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A4 U.S. NEWS
Monday 15 august 2022

New York restricts families from sending packages to inmates

By MAYSOON KHAN people to send packages
Associated Press/Report for directly to inmates in 2003.
America Instead, inmates and fami-
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — As lies can order items through
part of an effort to keep an approved vendor list
illegal drugs and other provided by the state. In
contraband out of state Florida, families also aren’t
prisons, New York is taking allowed to send packages
away one of the few plea- from home.
sures of life behind bars: It Prisoner advocates and
will no longer let people families of inmates say the
send inmates care pack- package policy is too re-
ages from home. strictive — and an added
Under the new policy, financial burden.
which the state began Wanda Bertram, a com-
phasing in last month, munications strategist at
friends and family aren’t al- the Prison Policy Initiative,
lowed to deliver packages called prison food a “nutri-
in person during prison visits. tional nightmare,” and said
They also won’t be allowed some incarcerated people
to mail boxes of goodies rely on care packages to
unless those come directly keep a healthy diet.
from third-party vendors. Before his release from Sing
While the rule won’t stop Caroline Hansen uses Emma’s Premium Services, a higher-priced service according to Hansen, to Sing Correctional Facil-
prisoners from getting items shop for food for her husband, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022, in New York. Associated Press ity in New York, former pris-
that can be ordered on- oner Wilfredo Laracuente
line, like a Snickers bar or a able to eat a banana?” drugs to smuggle them past letter mail soaked in drugs said he was able to order
bag of Doritos, they will lose she added, saying her authorities. Multiple states like methamphetamine or a 35-pound (16-kilogram)
access to foods like home- husband’s prison cafete- including Ohio, Wisconsin, a synthetic cannabinoid, package for himself con-
cooked meals or grand- ria serves bananas once a Michigan, Nebraska and also known as K2.When taining packaged cakes,
ma’s cookies. month, at most. Pennsylvania, already pho- packages are received by cookies, chips, soaps,
That’s a letdown for people New York had been one of tocopy incoming mail to a prison, officers remove shampoo, and some toilet-
like Caroline Hansen, who the few states in the nation prevent drugs from being the items from the box to ries.It cost $230 — the kind
for 10 years hand-deliv- that still allowed families to delivered to inmates. The inspect the items visually or of money most prisoners
ered packages filled with send packages to inmates federal Bureau of Prisons through an X-ray machine. don’t have.
fresh vegetables, fruits, and from home. The rule is al- began a similar practice in If there is reason for suspi- “This is going to be the be-
meats to her husband, who ready in effect in a majority 2019. cion, officers are allowed ginning of the end, where
is serving a life sentence. of state prisons. New York’s Department to open sealed packages they stop everything under
“When I first started bring- Starting this month, the of Corrections and Com- for further inspection. the guise of security and
ing him packages, he said state prison system is also munity Supervision said in Those checks, though, contraband,” said Laracu-
he loved avocados. He testing a program where in- a statement that the two aren’t perfect, and au- ente, who served two de-
hadn’t had them in about mates will be blocked from new policies are necessary thorities believe items slip cades in prison for murder
20 years,” said Hansen, a getting most letters sent on to stop contraband. through. and now facilitates work-
single mother of two who paper. Instead, incoming Contraband has been Critics of the package ban shops that help recently re-
works as a waitress in Long letters will be scanned by smuggled into prisons in questioned its effective- leased inmates reintegrate
Island. computer, and prisoners a number of ways: books ness, noting that prohib- into society. “What they’re
“What breaks my heart will get copies. laced with heroin, weap- ited items are sometimes doing is removing the hu-
is, I take for granted hav- The change is being made ons and unauthorized brought in by corrupt prison man component that’s
ing a banana with my yo- to try and head off a trend electronics like phones staff. very vital and necessary for
gurt. Imagine never being of people soaking letters in hidden in packages, and California stopped allowing the reentry process.”q

Officials: Loud ‘boom’ heard in north

Utah likely a meteor

said Saturday. Reports of per likely picked up the since searched the house
the loud noise circulated at meteor’s trail flash, which top to bottom and the only
about 8:30 a.m., with peo- officials said seemed to be thing I’ve found was one
ple from Orem to southern confirmed by witness video slat from our wooden fence
Idaho posting that they in Roy. that had fallen, so that’s a
heard the “boom,” The Salt South Salt Lake resident relief,” Melling wrote in a
Lake Tribune reported. Wendi Melling was just Facebook message.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox heading out the door Sat- “It did sound similar to sonic
tweeted that his office con- urday morning when she booms I’ve heard before,
firmed it was not related to heard the noise, which she followed by a short inci-
This image from video released by Snowbasin Resort shows any seismic activity or mili- described as a “loud deep dent of a sound similar to
their web cam capture of a meteor flying over Snowbasin in
Huntsville, Utah on Saturday, Aug. 13, 2022. tary installations. booming sound” followed low rolling thunder,” Mel-
Associated Press The National Weather Ser- by a few seconds of rum- ling continued. “This rum-
vice’s Salt Lake City office bling. bling noise that followed
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A areas of northern Utah was wrote in a tweet that its “I thought I heard some- the boom was maybe on
loud “boom” heard across likely a meteor, officials lightning detection map- thing fall in the house. I have 3-4 seconds.”q