NRCAT Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 14, 2017
CONTACT: T.C. Morrow, (202) 547-1920 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

NRCAT Welcomes Johnny Perez as Director of U.S. Prisons Program

Washington, DC - The National Religious Campaign Against Torture is pleased to announce that Johnny Perez will join the NRCAT team as Director of U.S. Prisons Program. Beginning on October 16, Mr. Perez takes over the role from Rev. Laura Markle Downton who has overseen tremendous growth in NRCAT's U.S. Prisons Program since she joined the staff in 2013. Rev. Downton continues with NRCAT in the role of Campaign Strategist, shifting to more writing and fundraising to assist all of NRCAT's program areas.

On any given day, it is estimated that between 80,000 to 100,000 incarcerated people, disproportionately adults and youth of color, are held in solitary confinement in the U.S. That number does not include people in local jails, juvenile facilities, or in military and immigration detention. NRCAT's U.S. Prisons Program is focused on making visible this hidden torture of solitary confinement, and working to replace it with restorative alternatives rooted in human dignity.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 6, 2017
CONTACT: T.C. Morrow, (202) 547-1920 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Anti-Torture Events in Washington State in September

Washington, DC - In August, a settlement was reached in the ACLU’s civil case against the two psychologists who designed and implemented the CIA's post-9/11 torture program.  The National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) is glad for the small measure of accountability representated by this settlement with James Mitchell and John “Bruce” Jessen.

NRCAT is pleased to co-sponsor the following events with the Washington State Religious Campaign Against Torture and other partners.  Originally scheduled to coincide with the anticipated court dates for the case, recent actions of the Trump Administration make it as important now as ever to resist the use of torture.

• September 6 at the Gonzaga University School of Law in Spokane - The Legal Obligation to Prevent and Prosecute Torture with keynote by Juan Mendez, former UN Special Rapporteur on Torture.  This will be live-streamed if you cannot join in person.
• September 9 in Spokane - Why Torture is Wrong with keynote by Curt Goering, Executive Director, Center for Victims of Torture and response by Rev. Rich Lang, District Superintendent, Pacific Northwest Conference of The United Methodist Church, Seattle District.
• September 26 at the University of Washington Law School in Seattle - Panel discussion on the Moral and Political Obligation to Resist Torture. Speakers: John Kiriakou, former CIA whistleblower who first made public the CIA's use of
  acheter viagra
  waterboarding, will discuss the role of internal dissenters. Lisa Hajjar, Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, scholar and author, will discuss the legal resistance to torture. Rev. Ron Stief, Executive Director of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT), will discuss the importance of resistance from the position of human rights and faith-based organizations. Rob Crawford, co-founder of the Washington State Religious Campaign Against Torture (WSRCAT) and Professor Emeritus from the University of Washington, Tacoma, will discuss grassroots resistance to torture.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 8, 2017
CONTACT: T.C. Morrow, (202) 547-1920 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Faith Communities Join in Call for a Faithful Budget

Washington, DC - The National Religious Campaign Against Torture joins over thirty national denominations and organizations in calling for a faithful budget advancing the notion, as described in the preamble of the faithful budget document, that:

"Government of, by and for the people is a vital forum for promoting the common good, cultivating basic virtues, and ensuring that no one is left behind. All of us have something to contribute to our life together, and none of us is excluded from our circle of mutual care and concern."(I)

The full text of the preamble is below and sections of the document can be downloaded here:

• Faithful Budget (Full Document)
• Faithful Budget Preamble
• Criminal Justice
• Domestic Human Needs
• Environment
• Foreign Assistance
• Health Care
• Immigration
• Native Americans
• Paying for a Faithful Budget

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 26, 2017
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 – In a decision earlier today, the Supreme Court gave President Trump permission to reinstate a portion of his controversial travel ban. Called a "Muslim Ban" because President Trump's order affects only people from majority Muslim countries, the portion of the ban that was re-instated only applies to people who do not have a bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States. In practice this means that refugees - those fleeing violence and terror without pre-established international connections in the U.S. - will be the group most affected by the new version of President Trump's Muslim Ban.

Matt Hawthorne, Policy Director at the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, had this to say about the ruling: "For a country built by immigrants to turn its back on refugees fleeing violence and terror is not only hardhearted, it's wrong. The Supreme Court's decision to reinstate a portion of the President's Muslim Ban fails to respect the core values of this great country - a country that enshrined freedom of religion in its Constitution. In light of this ruling, I hope that President Trump will be moved by compassion for children who have been displaced by terrible wars and other conflicts and reconsider his effort to ban refugees."

NRCAT shares this press release from Muslim Advocates, Center for New Community, and Muslim Public Affairs Council.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 9, 2017
Contacts:  Scott Simpson,  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , 202.735.1984; Lindsay Schubiner,  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , 202.810.4375

129 Groups Urge Mayors to Disavow Anti-Muslim Marches

A coalition of 129 national and local organizations sent letters to 29 mayors in advance of anti-Muslim marches scheduled in their cities on Saturday, June 10. 
 
The letters call on the mayors to embrace “values of pluralism, diversity, and liberty for all while firmly rejecting the forces of hate and bigotry that seek to divide us.” Click here to see the letters addressed to the mayors of all 29 cities.
 
A series of anti-Muslim marches are being held in 29 cities to coincide with the Ramadan holiday and are being hosted by a hate group called ACT for America. As documented by the Southern Poverty Law Center, Facebook pages for the marches include violent and racist rhetoric.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 6, 2017
CONTACT: T.C. Morrow, (202) 547-1920 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

U.S. Faith Coalition Condemns Effort to Bury the Truth about Torture

Washington, DC – In a statement released today, Rev. Ron Stief, Executive Director of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, condemned Senator Richard Burr's effort to bury the truth about torture by having the Trump Administration return its copies of the full Senate Torture Report:

“The truth is that torture is not only immoral, it's also illegal and ineffective. Instead of learning from the past, the Trump Administration has decided to comply with Senator Richard Burr's effort to bury that truth by returning copies of the full Senate Torture Report to the Senator. We hope both Senator Burr and the Trump Administration reconsider this poor decision, and ask themselves, what do they have to fear from reading the Torture Report? What do they have to fear from the truth?"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 27, 2017
CONTACT: T.C. Morrow, (202) 547-1920 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 15, 2017
CONTACT: T.C. Morrow, (202) 547-1920 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

U.S. Faith Coalition Condemns Muslim Ban 2.0

Washington, DC – In a statement released today, Rev. Ron Stief, Executive Director of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, condemned President Trump’s Muslim Ban 2.0:

“President Trump’s first Muslim Ban was illegal. Now he’s back again with a Muslim Ban 2.0 which is still premised on religious discrimination against Muslims. It is immoral for this Administration to leave tens of thousands of refugees, many of whom are fleeing violence and terror, with no place to go. We urge people of all faiths to stand together and resist any efforts by this Administration to further add to the injury of those who are already victims of ISIS and Assad.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 6, 2017
CONTACT: T.C. Morrow, (202) 547-1920 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

New Documentary Gives Rare Glimpse into a Supermax Prison

Washington, DC - Filmed in a supermax prison in rural Virginia, the 80-minute documentary "Solitary: Inside Red Onion State Prison" premieres nationwide on HBO tonight at 10pm ET.

Rev. Laura Markle Downton, Director of U.S. Prisons Policy and Program at the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, said about the film:

"More than 40 supermax prisons dot the U.S. landscape, yet these facilities are kept hidden from public view. 'Solitary' presents its audiences with a rare opportunity to go inside a supermax prison and hear the human stories of incarcerated people trapped in solitary confinement and the staff who work there. This film raises fundamental questions about the role of prisons in our society and the profound need for restorative justice. Through superb story-telling, Kristi Jacobson makes the powerful case that there are no throwaway people."

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 25, 2017
CONTACT: T.C. Morrow, (202) 547-1920 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Faith Leaders Make Case Against Torture as Mike Pompeo Voted in as CIA Director

Washington, DC – In a recent op-ed in , Rev. Ron Stief, executive director of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, laid out the Christian case against torture and stressed the importance of the fact that while under oath, Trump Administration nominees stood opposed to torture. During his confirmation hearings, CIA Director nominee Mike Pompeo made clear his view that torture is illegal.

Rev. Stief had this to say about the Senate’s vote to confirm Pompeo’s nomination:

“Director Pompeo has affirmed that he understands that torture is illegal. We hope that he holds to that position as CIA Director and we pray that he also understands that torture is immoral. Jesus himself was a victim of state-sponsored torture – and it is something that people of all faiths, and indeed all people, have a duty to oppose.”