The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections has transferred all the inmates from State Correctional Institution at Rockview in Centre County and Quehanna Boot Camp in Clearfield County to prisons around the state, and some inmates either had to destroy some of their personal property or pay for shipping.
State policy allows incarcerated people to keep a limited amount of personal property in their cells, the equivalent of four 15" x 12" x 5" boxes or one footlocker and two 15" x 12" x 5" boxes.
If an inmate is transferred to another prison, the state will move one television and one footlocker or two 15" x 12" x 5" boxes worth of belongings for free. If the inmate has more belongings, they either have to destroy them or pay for shipping to their new prison.
An inmate who was transferred from Rockview for the closure sent a letter to the WPSU newsroom and Governor Josh Shapiro’s office saying he was charged $141 dollars to ship a musical keyboard and two boxes, putting his account in the red.
In the letter, the inmate said “I had nothing to do with Rockview closing,” and “any costs involved should be paid for by the DOC and the state, not me.”
A DOC spokesperson told WPSU that the state does not profit off shipping inmate property, and that they choose the cheapest mailing option. The spokesperson also said inmates were reminded about the property transfer policy in October, a month after the closure decision was announced.
Speaking Thursday at a Senate budget hearing with DOC, Sen. Kristin Phillips-Hill said she heard from a constituent asking about these fees and who shared an article about the inmate who was charged $141.
"Given that these transfers were the result of a state initiated closure decision, did the department budget for covering the full cost of inmate property transfers? And if not, what would be the projected fiscal impact of doing so in the event that there are future facility closures?" Phillips-Hill asked.
DOC Secretary Laurel Harry said it cost $154,000 to ship inmates' property to their new prisons. She said the state did absorb the cost of any difference in inmate pay between prisons.
"We did, actually, for this closure, which we haven't done in the past, we assured that (the inmates) could maintain their same pay rate, and we hadn't done that in prior closures," Harry said. "We didn't have to, but we did because like you said, it was our decision to close the facility."
Harry said DOC could consider letting inmates keep the same pay rate if future facilities close.
There is no formal closure date for SCI Rockview and Quehanna Boot Camp, but the state previously said both facilities would close on or around March 1.
UPDATE, 2-26-26 @ 5:44 p.m.: This story was updated to include remarks from a Senate budget hearing on Thursday.
