FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 27, 2023
CONTACT: Rev. T.C. Morrow, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and 202-547-1920

Faith Groups Welcome Introduction of End Solitary Confinement Act in U.S. House

Washington, DC - Today Representative Cori Bush of Missouri and five colleagues in the House of Representatives introduced the End Solitary Confinement Act, new and historic legislation that would end solitary confinement in all federal custody and incentivize states and localities to do the same. The bill text is available here and a summary is available here.

“As someone who has personally endured the torment of solitary confinement, I can attest to the devastating toll it takes on one's mental and emotional well-being. The End Solitary Confinement Act is a beacon of hope for those incarcerated in federal facilities nationwide, offering a chance for reform and redemption within our criminal justice system,” said Johnny Perez, Director of the U.S. Prisons Program at the National Religious Campaign Against Torture. He added, “I implore Congress to swiftly pass this critical legislation, for it is not only a matter of justice, but a matter of preserving human dignity and restoring hope for those who have been silenced and isolated for far too long across the United States.”

More than 150 organizations nationwide have already endorsed the End Solitary Confinement Act, including 30 faith organizations. The National Religious Campaign Against Torture and fellow members of the Federal Anti-Solitary Taskforce (FAST), lauded the Act’s introduction and are urging Congress and the President to act now to fulfill the President’s pledge to end solitary. National faith groups and organizations joined solitary survivors and family members, human rights and racial justice advocates, lawyers, and members of the medical field in calling for support for the bill.

Rev. Ron Stief, Executive Director of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, urged swift action by Congress: “The faith community has heard the cries for help from the nation's solitary confinement cells where over 10,000 of our brothers and sisters in federal custody endure these conditions of torture today and every day. Congress needs to take the moral and courageous step to end torture in federal prisons and detention centers by passing the End Solitary Confinement Act without delay.”

Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie, President and General Secretary, National Council of Churches (NCC), said: “Solitary confinement is torture and denies the humanity of people who are incarcerated. It does nothing to make our communities safe and is counter to who we are and what we believe as Christians.”

Rameez Abid, Director of Operations, Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) Council for Social Justice, said: "The use of solitary confinement in our nation's prisons is a cruel and inhumane practice that has been shown to cause lasting harm to those subjected to it. The End Solitary Confinement Act represents an important step towards reforming our criminal justice system and ensuring that incarcerated individuals are treated with dignity and respect. This will greatly help to protect the mental health and well-being of our nation's incarcerated individuals. We urge Congress to pass this critical legislation without delay, and to work towards building a justice system that is more just, humane, and equitable for all."

David Bohm, Chair, Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA), said: “In keeping with our core belief that all people are made in the image of the divine and deserve to be treated as such, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs joins the National Religious Campaign Against Torture and our other multi-faith and secular partners in support of the End Solitary Confinement Act.”

Rev. Kendal McBroom, Director of Civil and Human Rights, General Board of Church and Society (GBCS) of The United Methodist Church, said: “The General Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church wholeheartedly supports the introduction and passage of the End Solitary Confinement Act. We thank Representative Cori Bush and the co-sponsors for bringing this vital legislation to the forefront in this Congress and ask that others would strongly consider signing on in support. Our criminal justice system is in need of deep repair. Studies, reports, and first-hand accounts all reveal a broken and harmful system that does not keep us safe. Our Social Principles as a church state that ‘we urge for the creation of a genuinely new system for the care and restoration of victims, offenders, criminal justice officials, and the community as a whole (¶164, H).’ As such, the removal of this detrimental practice has the potential to usher us into a new way of seeking justice, a way that does not bring further harm to already vulnerable persons.”

The various faith traditions that comprise NRCAT hold in common a belief in the inherent dignity and worth of each human person. Complete isolation violates basic religious values of redemption, compassion, and restorative justice.

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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