FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, September 30, 2016
CONTACT: T.C. Morrow, NRCAT Director of Finance and Operations, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 202-547-1920

Faith Leaders Applaud Introduction of Solitary Confinement Reform Act

Washington, DC - On Wednesday, the Solitary Confinement Reform Act (S. 3432) was introduced in the U.S. Senate, co-sponsored by Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Christopher Coons (D-DE), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Al Franken (D-MN).

Rev. Laura Markle Downton,  Director of NRCAT's U.S. Prisons Program, released the following statement:

"We applaud Senators Durbin, Coons, Leahy, Booker, and Franken for their leadership in introducing this important legislation, which takes great strides toward addressing the social moral crisis of solitary confinement. Prolonged isolation serves no rehabilitative purpose, has devastating medical and mental health consequences, jeopardizes facility and community safety, and is globally recognized as a form of torture that should be abolished. In the U.S., the severity of solitary falls disproportionately on people of color, mirroring disproportionate racial impact in policing and sentencing. Communities of faith affirm that there are no throw away people, and the practice of solitary, which survivors often describe as being 'buried alive' must be replaced by therapeutic interventions rooted in human dignity and human potential."

The National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) is a membership organization committed to ending U.S.-sponsored torture, and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. Since its formation in January 2006, more than 300 religious organizations have joined NRCAT, including representatives from the Catholic, evangelical Christian, mainline Protestant, Unitarian Universalist, Quaker, Orthodox Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Baha’i, Buddhist, and Sikh communities. Members include national denominations and faith groups, regional organizations and local congregations.

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