5 Ways to Directly Give Aid to Incarcerated Citizens (Besides Luigi Mangione)
Thanks in part to the now infamous alleged killer, the American public is learning just how much incarceration costs.
5 Ways to Directly Give Aid to Incarcerated Citizens (Besides Luigi Mangione)
Gabrielle A. Perry is an epidemiologist in New Orleans and the founder of The Thurman Perry Foundation, a nationally recognized, award-winning nonprofit organization that provides resources and assistance to currently and formerly incarcerated women and girls nationwide. You can find her thoughts on Bluesky at geauxgabrielle@bsky.social or X (formerly Twitter) at @GeauxGabrielle
Days away from a new year and a new presidential administration, Americans are entering 2025 seemingly with a new consciousness surrounding the societal conditions in which we collectively contend with. The December 4 killing of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, allegedly at the hands of the now infamous suspect in his shooting, Luigi Mangione, grandson of a multimillionaire real estate developer, has been met with more societal support and empathy than many can recall in recent memory. Americans’ support of the incarcerated Mangione has been multi-faceted, including massive donations to his defense and commissary funds—with critics noting it far outpacing those of the recent online crowdfund set up for victims of the December 16th shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison Wisconsin, which killed three people. A nationwide defense of this suspect and the reasons behind his motives have also led to people espousing the rights of incarcerated people nationwide.
Comments under the GiveSendGo link for Mangione have ranged from “You deserve a fair and just trial” to “[this donation is] to take care of your essentials,” likely referencing the high cost of daily necessities incarcerated people must purchase from commissary stores behind bars. A recent poll indicated that 69% of Americans “attributed some blame [for the killing of Brian Thompson] to coverage denials by healthcare companies,” and 67% of those polled felt that some blame for the killing was owed “to insurance industry profits.”
At the time of this writing, over $200,000 has been raised toward Mangione’s legal defense fund, while being well on its way to reaching its newly established goal of $500,000. Mangione’s own attorney has stated that his office has been overwhelmed with offers from strangers around the country to pay all legal fees his offer incurs in relation to his client. It is reported Mangione, in addition to hundreds of letters from across the country, has received over 150 donations to max out his inmate commissary account, which is a personal account that allows incarcerated individuals to purchase everything from menstrual products to snacks to writing utensils from a store inside their correctional facility.
Reform advocates have espoused that beyond legal fees and commissary money, incarcerated individuals face incredibly high costs of living behind bars. This is especially true for incarcerated women, who experience the gender pay gap behind bars in more ways than one but especially by being limited in the jobs and even work release assignments that they are offered in comparison to their incarcerated male counterparts—while incurring costs for more nuanced needs such as menstrual products while housed at these facilities.
Further, contrary to the average American’s understanding, incarcerated individuals must also pay for healthcare copays and deductibles during their incarceration, which can result in mounting carceral debt on top of what they may already owe to the court, restitution accounts, and legal defense fees. Debts incurred from having to pay to speak on the phone to loved ones or talk to inoperable via virtual screens in the new post-COVID world are only increasing the burden of incarceration and making maintaining any semblance of support—and chance at successful re-entry into society—extremely slim. A 15-minute call can cost almost $6 in some municipalities, and, with most incarcerated people falling well below the poverty line, these fees are often insurmountable.
Incarceration itself costs, with 40 states and the federal Bureau of Prisons charging incarcerated people for their own lodging, also known as “cell rent,” with states like Florida having a “pay to stay” law that allows the state to charge incarcerated people $50 per day for their prison sentence months, even years beyond their release dates if they are released early. Such was the case with Shelby Hoffman, a Florida woman charged with drug possession and sentenced to 7 years in state prison. Yet, although she was released in ten months, the Florida law allows for each day of the original sentence to be counted towards the debt. Hoffman’s debt thus totaled over $127,000 in unpaid cell-rent.
Regardless of how one feels about Mangione’s alleged actions, many are asking what can be done to change the conditions for those in similar circumstances as he now finds himself. After a viral news broadcast showed Mangione’s fellow inmates yelling to a reporter about the conditions he was enduring inside the local facility—met with laughter by the on-site reporter—social media critics and supporters alike of Mangione have been forthright in expressing both the human rights obstacles of incarcerated people in America and the need to support change for all of them, not just high profile individuals.
Below are five verified, direct-giving organizations around the United States that support incarcerated people—men and women alike.
a. Per their website: “The Commissary Fund (TCF) is a nonprofit, charitable organization that raises and pools money to provide commissary funds to incarcerated individuals in New York State and eventually around the country.”
2. The Thurman Perry Foundation
a. Per their website: “The mission of The Thurman Perry Foundation is to offer direct financial assistance, essential public health resources, and educational resources to at least 10,000 women & girls impacted by incarceration nationwide by the year 2030. Our Girl Code program is a first-in-the-nation program donating organic menstrual products to incarcerated women nationwide with a goal of 1 million donated by 2026.”
3. New Hour for Women and Children
a. Per their website: “New Hour was founded to provide meaningful support to current and formerly incarcerated women, their children and families. We build community to promote successful re-entry and lasting reintegration, and to reform unjust criminal justice system policies. We empower directly impacted people to utilize their lived experiences to create lasting reforms to the carceral system. Between working in our jails, running our EMERGE leadership classes, and providing wrap-around re-entry support, New Hour is doing the work to uplift justice-impacted women and families.”
a. Per their website: “The mission of Prison Book Program is to support people in prison by sending them free books and reading materials that meet their specific needs and interests. We do this through a highly engaging volunteer experience that connects people inside and outside of the American prison system.”
a. Per their website: “Our commissary program aims to provide the maximum funds possible ($300/month) to every federal cannabis prisoner and to reduce the strain on families.”