FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 27, 2017
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Faith Leaders Express Support for Connecticut's Solitary Bill, HB 7302

New Haven, CT - At a hearing of the Judiciary Committee today, Rev. Allie Perry, President of the Board of Directors of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, will offer testimony in support of HB 7302: An Act Concerning Isolated Confinement and Correctional Staff Training and Wellness.

NRCAT submitted written testimony in advance of the hearing. The following is an excerpt of that testimony:

"On any given day in the U.S., it is estimated that 80,000 to 100,000 incarcerated people are held in conditions of solitary confinement. That number does not include people in local jails, juvenile facilities, or in military and immigration detention. Isolation destroys people and serves no rehabilitative purpose. For people of faith and conscience, isolated confinement is an affront to values of inherent human dignity. Churches, synagogues, mosques and temples are the first responders to the damage wrought by the practice of prolonged isolation. What happens to those who are imprisoned in our state impacts all of us, as a vast majority of those who are incarcerated will one day return to our communities."

Additional testimony was provided by:

• Rev. Toni Smith
• Rev. Dr. Rochelle A. Stackhouse
• Michele Mudrick of the Connecticut Conference of the United Church of Christ

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.

NRCAT.org    @NRCATtweets   facebook.com/nrcat

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