From the ACLU, this is at Liberty. I'm Molly Kaplan, your host.

Please note that this episode contains conversation around sexual violence and may not be

appropriate for all audiences.

Calls to defund the police and even abolish the police are often met with the retort,

but what do we do about the rapists and the murderers?

It's a question that today's guest, Kamone Felix, addressed head-on,

with an article in New York Magazine's The Cut, titled, Aaking for Abolition as a survivor of

sexual violence. She explains that as a sexual assault survivor, the incarceration of her

attacker brought her no solace. She invites the reader to listen, to be led, and to invest in

agency when thinking about accountability and healing. Felix is the vice president of

strategic communications for Blue State, a purpose-driven strategy agency. Before Blue State,

she was the director of surrogates and strategic communications at Elizabeth Warren for

president. She's also a prolific poet and was long listed for the National Book Award in 2019.

Comeon, welcome to the podcast.

Thank you so much for having me.

I want to start with the article that you wrote for the cut.

You root the discussion about abolition and sexual violence in this very personal experience.

The topic that we're about to address is not a hypothetical for you.

It's a lived experience. And I was wondering if you'd feel comfortable sharing a little bit about

that personal story as much as you were comfortable with. Sure. As a little girl, I had some

family members who were suffering because of addiction, because of homelessness.

And one of those people was my aunt Greta.

...