Delaware's Draconian Mail Policy feat. Monica Cosby

Beyond Prisons

In this episode, Kim sits down with Monica Cosby to talk about the draconian policy in the Delaware Department of Corrections to end all physical mail sent to prisoners.

Join us to take action on Friday, March 18, 2022, and on Monday through Wednesday, March 21-23, 2022. Details at: https://www.beyond-prisons.com/home/say-no-to-eliminating-physical-mail-in-delaware-prisons

Kim and Monica discuss the cruelty of this policy, which would prevent prisoners from receiving sympathy cards, birthday cards, and even hand-drawn items sent by their children or other loved ones. They also get into the painful isolation that this policy will lead to for many prisoners, whose main way of connecting with loved ones on the outside is through the mail, because of the cost of phone calls and the hassle of traveling long distances for in-person visits.

Finally, they touch on the Delaware DOC's flimsy claim that this policy is designed to reduce contraband--and the much clearer profit motive behind digital mail.

Monica Cosby is a mother, grandmother, activist, organizer, restorative justice and peace circle keeper, poet, person of the theater, and a lover of books, music, cats, dogs, and the earth. Her life and work have been shaped and informed by the communities she has belonged to, including the community of artists, scholars and mothers with whom she was incarcerated for twenty years and whose survival was and is an act of resistance against a system that would dispose of them. She is the lead organizer of Moms United Against Violence and Incarceration and is a wonderful and valuable spirit in the Chicago movement community.

Episode Resources & Notes

Say NO To Eliminating Physical Mail In Delaware Prisons

Coverage of DEDOC mail policy

Petition in opposition to the mail policy

Credits

Created and hosted by Kim Wilson and Brian Sonenstein

Edited by Ellis Maxwell

Website & volunteers managed by Victoria Nam

Theme music by Jared Ware

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