NRCAT Press Releases

For Immediate Release: January 23, 2017
Contact: Allie Perry - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 203-215-2613

Replica Solitary Confinement Cell Coming to New Haven, CT

NEW HAVEN, CT – From January 30th through February 18th, members of the public will have the rare opportunity to experience the sights and sounds of a typical solitary confinement cell. A broad coalition of local community, religious, and university organizations will host “Inside the Box,” a three week-long display of a replica solitary confinement cell at the New Haven Free Public Library and on the Yale campus. The display will be accompanied by numerous events, including community discussions, film screenings, expert panels, and a talk by Connecticut Department of Correction Commissioner Scott Semple.

“Our goal is to provide members of the community with an opportunity to experience isolation, to learn about its harms, and to engage in advocacy for limiting its use,” said the Rev. Allie Perry, the coalition’s lead organizer.

Solitary confinement is the practice of placing a prisoner alone in a cell for 22 to 24 hours a day with little human contact or interaction. According to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, prolonged solitary confinement is torture. On any given day, however, around 80,000 people in the United States are being held in solitary confinement.

“Inside the Box” will begin with a press conference on Monday, January 30 at 1:30 P.M. held at the New Haven Free Public (Ives Memorial) Library and featuring New Haven Mayor Toni Harp, Connecticut Senator Gary Winfield, solitary survivor Keishar Tucker, City Librarian Martha Brogan, William Ginsberg of The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, and members from the Lowenstein International Human Rights Clinic at Yale Law School.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 18, 2017
CONTACT: T.C. Morrow, (202) 547-1920

PETITION DELIVERED FROM 4,500 KANSAS CHRISTIANS CALLING ON REP. POMPEO TO REFRAIN FROM TORTURE AS CIA DIRECTOR

Washington, DC - Over 4,500 Kansas Christians signed a petition asking future CIA Director Rep. Mike Pompeo to stick with recent assurances made to the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee that he would “absolutely not” follow an illegal order to resume the CIA torture program.

Today, Rev. Ron Stief, executive director of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, delivered the petition to Rep. Pompeo’s Washington office on behalf of the Kansas Christians. The petition signatures were also delivered to Rep. Pompeo’s Wichita office by Sr. Bernadine Wessel, ASC.

In a statement, Rev. Stief said: “We delivered this petition to encourage Rep. Pompeo to obey the dictates of the law and Christian morality by rejecting torture during his tenure as CIA Director. Jesus himself was a victim of state-sponsored torture and the petition was signed by over 4,000 Christians in Kansas who believe that no government should ever use torture.”

For Immediate Release: January 11, 2017
Contact: T.C. Morrow, 202-547-1920

Coalition marks 15th anniversary of first detainees imprisoned at Guantánamo with rally at Supreme Court and march to Senate confirmation hearings

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On January 11, a broad coalition of human rights organizations will mark 15 years since the first prisoners were brought to the U.S. detention facility in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba with a rally and march in Washington, D.C.

They will rally in front of the U.S. Supreme Court at 11:30 am and then march to the Senate Russell Building, where the confirmation hearing of Sen. Jeff Sessions for Attorney General is taking place.

The groups will call on President Obama to expedite releases from Guantánamo and to make public the full U.S. Senate Torture Report. They demand that President-elect Trump reject the use of torture, continue transferring men from Guantánamo, end indefinite detention, and reject national security or other measures that discriminate against Muslims.

The groups will speak to the nominations of Jeff Sessions for Attorney General and Mike Pompeo for CIA Director. Senator Sessions consistently voted to prevent the closure of Guantánamo and refused to strengthen legislative bans on the abuse of detainees. When in Congress, Pompeo opposed the release of any of the U.S. Senate Torture Report and misrepresented the reality at Guantánamo in efforts to keep the prison open.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 10, 2017
CONTACT: T.C. Morrow, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 202-547-1920

Faith Leaders Pray that President Trump will Robustly Defend the Dignity of all People

Washington, DC - In advance of confirmation hearings on executive branch nominations, national faith leaders sent a letter to President-elect Trump sharing their hopes and prayers that he would advance American values and defend all people from torture, genocide, and other assaults on human dignity.

The faith leaders, representing many different American faith traditions, wrote:

“We live in an era when fear and anger have eroded the common concern for human life and human dignity. Too often lines are drawn between people of different ethnicities, religions, and cultures, and some use those lines in an attempt to justify killing, torture, and other immoral acts of brutality.

While we represent a diversity of faith traditions, we stand together in a shared belief in the God-given dignity of each person and the conviction that America should reject the forces that divide people and should protect those who are at risk of torture, rape, genocide, and other violations of human dignity. Our faith traditions teach us that standing up for the vulnerable and those in need is at integral to the well-being of our shared community.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 10, 2017
CONTACT: Chris Pumpelly, (316) 519-3266

Christians in Kansas Tell Mike Pompeo: Torture is Always Wrong

Wichita, KS - In advance of Rep. Mike Pompeo's confirmation hearing to be the next CIA Director, the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) has run an ad in The Wichita Eagle reminding the nominee that “Our children are watching” and has circulated a petition reminding Rep. Pompeo that Christians believe that torture is always wrong.

In a statement, Sr. Bernadine Wessel, ASC, a resident of Wichita, said:

“As a Roman Catholic sister, I know the use of torture is an affront to the dignity of the human person. Our Lord commands us to forgive our enemies and turn the other cheek, to love our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us. And Catholic teaching is clear and consistent in its prohibition against torture and in affirmation of the dignity of each person, formed in God's image.

I continue to pray for our President-Elect, and his choice for CIA Director, Rep. Pompeo. I pray they will listen to the thousands of Christians who call on them to reject torture.”

For Immediate Release: January 10, 2017
Contact: Amos Caley, the NJ Campaign for Alternatives to Isolated Confinement, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ; (260) 224-0376

New Jersey Community Leaders Hold Rally Calling For an End to Solitary Confinement

Trenton, NJ -  Human rights advocates are preparing to assemble on Wednesday, January 11th along Cass Street outside New Jersey State Prison in Trenton. They will be condemning the use of solitary confinement in New Jersey prisons.

The rally is scheduled for 12:00pm and is being hosted by the New Jersey Campaign for Alternatives to Isolated Confinement (NJ-CAIC), whose members and co-sponsors include 18 advocacy organizations and many additional faith and community groups.

Bonnie Kerness, director of the Prison Watch Program at the American Friends Service Committee, is one of the members of NJ-CAIC scheduled to speak at the rally. “We’ve been monitoring human rights abuses in New Jersey prisons for decades,” says Kerness, “and since the use of isolation on prisoners was truly pioneered here, it is necessary that New Jersey becomes the first state to definitively ban this practice. Holding people in small cells for months or years at a time is torture, no matter what you choose to call it.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 1, 2016
CONTACT: T.C. Morrow, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 202-547-1920

Policy Recommendations to the 115th Congress and Trump Administration on Behavioral Health Issues in the Criminal Justice System

Washington, DC - The National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT), a diverse coalition of national and local religious organizations from across the country, endorsed recommendations to the new Congress and Trump Administration on behaviorial health issues in the criminal justice system.  The Consensus Workgroup, including organizations representing individuals with behavioral health needs and their families, providers, and correctional systems and administrators, calls on the Congress and Trump Administration to take a comprehensive approach to addressing issues at the intersection of behavioral health and criminal justice.

The full text of the recommendations can be found here.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 28, 2016
CONTACT: T.C. Morrow, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 202-547-1920

Religious and Civil Rights Organizations Call for Investigation into Reports of Torture at the Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary
Letter Follows Recent Media Reports of Systemic Abuse and Violence

Washington, DC – Today, the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) joined nearly forty civil and human rights organizations, mental health and religious organizations, including the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), the American Civil Liberties Union, and the National Association of Social Workers, in urging the Attorney General to request the Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General launch an investigation into the federal Bureau of Prisons’ practices at the Lewisburg federal penitentiary.

The letter to the Attorney General follows recent media reports published by NPR and The Marshall Project uncovering allegations of torture at USP Lewisburg, including the use of prolonged double-celled solitary confinement, restraints, and lack of mental health treatment. The letter states that these reports “mirror years of troubling complaints at this federal facility,” and calls for “greater oversight, transparency and accountability to ensure humane and lawful conditions of confinement.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 18, 2016
CONTACT: Mary Ellen Kramer - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ; (347) 509-­5880

Leading Advocacy Groups Sponsor Oct. 20 Event at St. Bart's Church to End Prolonged Solitary Confinement in New York State

NEW YORK, NY - The St. Bart's Church, Campaign for Alternatives to Isolated Confinement, Circles of Support, Correctional Association of NY, and the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) are sponsoring an event on October 20, 2016 to educate the public about solitary confinement in New York prisons and jails, and to advocate for passage of the Humane Alternatives to Long Term (HALT) Solitary Confinement Act (A4401/S2659), legislation which would implement humane alternatives to long-term solitary confinement in New York State. In place of isolation, the bill proposes rehabilitative and therapeutic interventions to address the root causes of behavior. This presentation and panel discussion, featuring formerly incarcerated individuals and other subject matter experts, is free and open to the public.

Momentum to confront the practice of solitary confinement in New York State, in states from coast to coast and at the federal level has been steadily growing for the last several years. With the recent growth in media coverage and the historic reforms won in court by the New York Civil Liberties Union in 2016, a grass-roots coalition of local organizations has formed in recent years to build on and continue this forward trajectory.

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."