Bring Back Care Packages

I am writing to demand that the New York State Department of Corrections not make the proposed amendments to directive #4911 (as issued by the memorandum entitled “Incarcerated Individual Population” on April 25, 2022) and immediately end the new restrictions on packages being brought into prisons. This new policy is punitive and creates a tremendous burden for imprisoned people, their families, and their friends. Limiting healthy food items and restricting packages to vendors only serves to further isolate and harm incarcerated folks, their support systems; and worsens the already inhumane prison conditions rampant across the state. In order to reduce overdoses, New York needs to take a public health approach, not further criminalization, to address the needs of incarcerated individuals. Thank you!