Protesters across the state rally against prison package restrictions

Families of incarcerated New Yorkers, advocates, and those who have served prison time protested against the state prison agency’s rules restricting package deliveries Tuesday morning. Simultaneous rallies were held at six different locations across the state, including outside Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Manhattan office and in front of Sing Sing Correctional Facility.

The Department of Corrections and Community Supervision policy that was enacted in May prohibits incarcerated peoples’ family and friends from sending or delivering more than two packages a year to them – and bans packages with food all together. Additional deliveries can be sent through prison approved third-party vendors, but this brings fewer options and additional expenses. 

While supporters of the policy – which exists in similar forms across the country – argue that limiting package deliveries will stem the flow of contraband into prisons, advocates say corrections officers are responsible for bringing in many of these items, and that such a ban just further hurts incarcerated people and their families. 

“This is called survival. It’s called human rights,” said Alliance of Families for Justice Deputy Director Aqirah Stanley, who was formerly incarcerated. “(Incarcerated people) do not have the proper clothes, they do not have the proper food, they do not have the proper shoes and these are all the things that families do – we provide.”