Join a State Campaign to End Prolonged Solitary Confinement
NRCAT supports state partner organizations in their work to educate the faith community about the use of prolonged solitary confinement and to advocate for legislation to end its use. In states where NRCAT does not have a designated local partner, but legislation or other significant efforts to limit solitary confinement are underway, NRCAT informs people of faith about these efforts and provides advocacy tools. We encourage you to learn more about and join these current state efforts:
- California
- Colorado
- Florida
- Illinois
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- New Jersey
- New York
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Texas
- Virginia
If you have questions or comments about any of the state campaigns above or about starting a campaign in another state, please contact Laura Markle Downton, NRCAT's Director of U.S. Prisons Policy & Program, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Start a State Campaign to End Prolonged Solitary Confinement
Not from the above states? Consider starting a campaign in your state! The first step is educating people of faith about the severe harm caused by prolonged solitary confinement. Visit our state-based resources page to check for news, cases, or studies available about the use of solitary confinement in your state. The second step is mobilizing the faith community to advocate against the use of prolonged solitary confinement. Below are some tools to get you started:
Step 1: Collect information about how solitary is used in your state
- A presentation about organizing state level campaigns from the Strategic Convening on Solitary Confinement and Human Rights in Chicago, November 2012.
- A survey for those placed in segregation created by Natalie Holbrook of the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC).
Step 2: Educate
- Check for more information about your state on NRCAT's state-based resources page
- Ask people of faith to read and endorse NRCAT's Statement Against Prolonged Solitary Confinement
- Share and discuss NRCAT's film, Solitary Confinement: Torture in Your Backyard
Step 3: Mobilize
- Read this report containing experiences and lessons learned during Maine’s 2010 legislative session - identifying partners and allies, organizing the religious community, developing a strategy, public relations and messaging, and connecting with prisoners. For example, the coalition successfully changed the public discourse by identifying long-term solitary confinement as torture.
- Review examples of legislation to study or limit the use of solitary confinement that have been introduced in other states
