Cost of Incarceration
Incarcerated Delawareans have to purchase their own deodorant. As mentioned in the Criminal Debt Imposed Study Group report, an incarcerated person in Delaware making 39 cents an hour would have to work over 8 hours to purchase a stick of deodorant ($3.18), and over 19 hours to pay for a 30-minute video call with family ($7.50).
No more paying for punishment.
For someone who’s incarcerated and earns just 25 cents an hour—a common wage in many prisons—it takes over 15 hours of labor just to earn four dollars. That’s more than two full workdays behind bars to afford what many outside the walls might spend without a second thought. When you consider that court-imposed fines and fees, commissary costs, and basic necessities all come with a price tag, it becomes painfully clear how impossible it is to stay afloat. This isn’t just about money—it’s about dignity, survival, and the urgent need to reform a system that exploits the very people it claims to rehabilitate.