FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 29, 2018
CONTACT: T.C. Morrow, 202-547-1920 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

WASHINGTON, DC - One of the largest faith denominations in the U.S. has joined the growing consensus to end the use of prolonged solitary confinement in the United States, including at immigration detention centers, private prisons, and military jurisdictions. The Episcopal Church’s historic resolutions, passed during the 79th General Convention in July in Austin, TX, echoes the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, also known as “The Mandela Rules,” revised by the United Nations in 2015. The General Convention resolution, D029 Condemning Prolonged Solitary Confinement as a Form of Torture, calls on all Episcopalians to amplify their voice in solidarity with human rights groups and others to end this practice.

Rebecca Linder Blachly, Director of the Episcopal Church Office of Government Relations, said about the resolution:

"The Episcopal Church has had a longstanding opposition to all forms of torture, including prolonged solitary confinement. The Resolution which the 79th General Convention recently passed (D029 Condemning Prolonged Solitary Confinement as a Form of Torture) reinvigorates our Church’s commitment to ending this damaging and inhumane practice, encouraging Episcopalians to urge their governments to seek alternatives to isolated confinement. We are grateful to NRCAT for their leadership and education on solitary confinement.”

The United States is number one in many areas, including unfortunately accounting for half of the world’s isolated prisoners who are held in solitary confinement. Across the U.S. 100,000 men, women, and children are locked in cells the size of an average parking space. They spend months, years, and even decades under deplorable conditions violating international human rights standards.

For years, the faith community has denounced the torturous use of prolonged solitary confinement and has called on political leaders to protect the dignity of people held in solitary by ending the practice. The National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) uses grassroots organizing, public education, and state and national policy advocacy to work for an end to torture and the criminalization of communities of color.

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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