NRCAT Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, September 28, 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

Interfaith Religious Leaders Applaud Governor Brown for Signing Landmark Legislation to Protect Youth from Long-term Isolation in California Juvenile Facilities

Sacramento, CA – Yesterday, California Governor Jerry Brown signed SB 1143, legislation authored by Senator Mark Leno to protect youth from placement in long-term isolation in California’s juvenile facilities. National interfaith religious leaders applauded the Governor for signing this landmark legislation, which limits the immoral practice of placing youth in long-term isolation in California’s juvenile facilities.

The National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) cosponsored SB 1143 with the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, youth advocates, faith communities, and The Chief Probation Officers of California (CPOC). This summer, NRCAT, T'ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, and faith leaders delivered “A Religious Call In Support of SB 1143: Toward A Future of Possibility for California’s Youth” to Governor Brown emphasizing the moral significance of SB 1143 and the statewide support of faith leaders representing a diverse array of religious traditions for the legislation.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 22, 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

Over 200 California Faith Leaders Call on Governor Brown to Support Legislation to Protect Youth from Placement in Long-term Isolation in Juvenile Facilities

Sacramento, CA – Today, California faith leaders and representatives of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) delivered "A Religious Call In Support of SB 1143: Toward A Future of Possibility for California's Youth" to the staff of Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr., signed by more than two hundred California faith leaders representing a diverse array of religious traditions statewide.

The letter to Governor Brown emphasizes the moral significance of SB 1143, legislation to protect youth from long-term isolation in California's juvenile facilities, calling it "an historic opportunity for California to lead the country in setting nationally recognized best standards to improve youth outcomes, in keeping with reforms in states nationwide to limit the use of long-term isolation for youth and adults, in favor of humane alternatives that prioritize rehabilitation and public safety." Earlier this year, President Obama questioned the practice of solitary confinement, describing it as "an affront to our common humanity." He issued a Presidential Memorandum to limit the use of isolation, which includes limits in federal juvenile facilities to a maximum of three hours, and a ban on its use for the purposes of punishment or discipline.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 15, 2016

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 Praises Guantanamo Transfers

WASHINGTON – People of faith applauded today when 15 people were transferred from Guantanamo to the United Arab Emirates. The transfer leaves 61 people still detained in Guantanamo more than fourteen years after the prison there was opened.

Matt Hawthorne, Policy Director of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture released this statement:

"The prison at Guantanamo is a betrayal of our values and a detriment to our security. All people deserve to be treated with dignity and no one should be held for over a decade without trial in an off-shore prison camp designed to be beyond the reach of law. These transfers are a good step. We pray that our government will follow up with further steps to close the prison at Guantanamo forever."

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 12, 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

At a Press Conference Today on the Steps of Cleveland City Hall… A Coalition of Veterans & Leaders of Muslim, LGBTQ & Other Religious and Community Organizations, Called on the RNC to Preempt Hate Speech at Its National Convention in Cleveland Next Week
Not Enough to Repudiate Bigotry After the Fact; Must Make it Clear in Advance that Anti-Muslim Bigotry and Homophobic Remarks Will Not be Tolerated

Cleveland, OH - Preempt the use of anti-Muslim and anti-gay rhetoric by Republican leaders at the upcoming party national convention next week was the strongly worded and oft-repeated message at a press conference on the steps of Cleveland City Hall today, just days before the Republican National Convention begins in this city.

Rev. Ron Stief, Executive Director of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture and a United Church of Christ minister joined representatives of Veterans Challenge Islamophobia, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Cleveland Chapter, and the LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland for the press conference.

Rev. Stief's statement:

"Good morning, I'm Rev. Ron Stief, Executive Director of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture and a Minister in the United Church of Christ.

Earlier this year, leaders of American religious denominations and faith-based organizations wrote a letter to Republican National Committee Chair Reince Priebus, expressing our concern at the increasingly negative and discriminatory rhetoric we were hearing on the campaign trail, particularly the bigoted rhetoric targeting our Muslim neighbors and community members.

For Immediate Release: June 1, 2016

Contact: Rev. Laura Markle Downton, 609-712-2042

A Statement from Rev. Ron Stief

(Washington, DC) - NRCAT's executive director, Rev. Ron Stief, released the following statement:

"At a time when our world is in need of strong moral leadership, the National Religious Campaign Against Torture is saddened to learn that today during the Clergy Executive Session of the Baltimore-Washington Conference of The United Methodist Church, the clergy did not accept the recommendation of the Board of Ordained Ministry to approve a valued staff member of NRCAT, T.C. Morrow, for provisional membership as a deacon. For nearly a decade, the national interfaith membership of 300 faith organizations in NRCAT have recognized and benefited from T.C.’s tireless determination, pastoral spirit and commitment to justice, and yet these gifts sadly have not been embraced by her own Baltimore-Washington Conference and The United Methodist Church. T.C. is called by God, as are all LGBTQ leaders in our communities and churches whom God has called to ministry, and the UMC is all the poorer for not joining the many faith colleagues across the country who daily bestow the recognition of excellence in professional ministry to T.C. Morrow."

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 14, 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

Calling on Political Parties to Address Anti-Muslim Bigotry - Remarks by Rev. Ron Stief

Washington, DC - Today the Shoulder-to-Shoulder: Standing with American Muslims; Upholding American Values campaign called on the Republican and Democratic parties to take a forceful stand against anti-Muslim bigotry, and discrimination against all religious minorities, by adding explicit language to their party platforms at the upcoming nominating conventions. Rev. Ron Stief, chair of the executive committee of Shoulder to Shoulder and executive director of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, spoke from the following prepared remarks during a press conference at the National Press Club:

Today, interfaith leaders have spoken eloquently about the rise of anti-Muslim sentiment and the closing off of religious freedoms that is being felt as candidates for public office express this sentiment. We are here to say that standing Shoulder to Shoulder means that if you attack or speak ill or threaten any aspect of the religious freedoms enjoyed by any one of us, you will have to take us all on.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 5, 2016

CONTACT: Jaime Perrington, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , 917-654-9380

ARTISTS ANNOUNCE THE "MUSEUM OF DRUG POLICY" ON PARK AVENUE DURING THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY MEETING ON THE WORLD DRUG PROBLEM
THE POP­UP CULTURAL HUB WILL TAKE PLACE ON APRIL 19, 20, 21

New York, N.Y. - The Museum of Drug Policy is a pop­up cultural hub that includes an immersive art experience and special live programming looking at the impact of current drug policies on populations around the world. The Museum will occupy space on Park Avenue for three days this month, during the United Nations General Assembly's Special Session (UNGASS) on the world drug problem.

Through art, conversations and experiential events, the Museum will showcase that the moment is now for drug policy reform and that damage caused by the war on drugs is evident across the world. The Museum will uplift the voices of people most impacted by the global drug policy: people who use drugs, crop growers, people who are incarcerated, people who have saved lives or lost loved ones to drug overdose, people on death row for drug offenses, doctors who can't prescribe adequate pain relief to their patients, and other voices of the international drug policy reform movement.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 30, 2016

CONTACT: Laura Dixon, Chief Probation Officers of California, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 510.384.3020; Zaineb Mohammed, Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 510.285.8236

Probation Chiefs and Youth Advocates Partner on Legislation to Address Room Confinement in Juvenile Facilities

Sacramento, CA – The Chief Probation Officers of California (CPOC) and youth advocates announced today that they have joined forces to co-sponsor landmark legislation limiting the use of room confinement for youth in California's juvenile facilities.

As amended this week, Senate Bill 1143 represents a critical breakthrough and unique partnership between CPOC and juvenile justice advocates who have agreed on a way to create safer facilities for youth and facility staff throughout the state. Previous bills intended to limit the use of room confinement did not have the support of CPOC and failed to pass both houses of the California Legislature. SB 1143 is authored by Senator Mark Leno, D-San Francisco.

"This bill protects the basic human rights and dignity of youth residing in local jails and juvenile camps," said Senator Leno. "It also protects public safety by ensuring that youth get the educational and rehabilitative opportunities they need to come home with the best chance of success in life."

This year, President Obama banned the long-term isolation of youth in federal detention facilities. With SB 1143, California is poised to follow his example. California has the opportunity to proactively establish model standards to limit the use of room confinement and lead the way for other states throughout the country to prioritize the health, safety, and rehabilitation of youth in detention.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 9, 2016

CONTACT: Benny Witkovsky, West End Strategy Team - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ; (o) 202-766-7700, (c) 202-765-4290

Local Faith Leaders Testify in Support of New Jersey Bill Limiting Solitary Confinement

Trenton, NJ – Local faith leaders and representatives of The National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) will be in full force at the State Capitol in Trenton, New Jersey on Thursday, March 10 in support of significant reform and reduction of solitary confinement in New Jersey prisons and jails. Several local clergymembers will testify in support of the passage of the Isolated Confinement Restriction Act (S.51), a powerful new bill that limits the practice statewide.

Members of the media are invited to attend the hearing. NRCAT representatives and affiliated clergy members will be available for interview.

Who:Rev. Charles Boyer of the Bethel African Methoidst Episcopal Church in Woodbury, NJ; NRCAT board member Rev. Seth Kaper-Dale, and Rabbi David Levy

What: Hearing on S.51: the Isolated Confiment Restriction Act, which would place significant limits on the use of solitary confiment in New Jersey

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 1, 2016

CONTACT: Benny Witkovsky, West End Strategy Team; This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ; (o) 202-766-7700, (c) 202-765-4290

National Religious Campaign Against Torture Sponsors Event to End Prolonged Solitary Confinement in New York State

Brooklyn, NY - The National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) is sponsoring an event on March 18, 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 therapeutic interventions to address the root cause of behavior and end cycles of violence. This presentation and panel discussion, featuring subject matter experts and formerly incarcerated individuals, 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 2015, a grass-roots coalition of local organizations has formed in recent years to build on and continue this forward trajectory.