NRCAT Press Releases

For Immediate Release: December 1, 2015

Contact: Benny Witkovsky, West End Strategy Team, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ; (o)202-776-7700, (c)202-765-4290

Foundry United Methodist Church Hosts Solitary Confinement Cell Installation
Local Leaders, Congregants Asked to Reflect On Those Suffering in Solitary Confinement

WASHINGTON – This Sunday, Foundry United Methodist Church on 16th Street in Washington, D.C., will host a full-size replica of a solitary confinement cell or Special Housing Unit (SHU). Parishioners will be invited to walk through, sit in and contemplate the installation after this week's Sunday services. The replica will be open to the public December 6-10, 2015. Due to its central location in downtown Washington, a number of local and national leaders in the criminal justice system have been invited to come to the replica as well.

This installation, sponsored in part by the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, is part of a broader effort to mobilize the faith community to advocate for an end to the practice of solitary confinement, considered torture by the United Nations. The cell replica was originally built in Madison, Wisconsin, before being reconstructed here by NRCAT last spring. Since then it has traveled nationwide to engage with a broad range of religious communities including: The Islamic Circle of North America in Baltimore, The Pennsylvania Council of Churches in Harrisburg, the United Church of Christ General Synod in Cleveland, The National Catholic Youth Conference in Indianapolis, and St. Stephen and the Incarnation Episcopal Church here in Washington, D.C.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Nov. 25, 2015

CONTACT: Benny Witkovsky, West End Strategy Team, Office: (202) 776-7700; cell: (202) 765-4290; This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

People of Faith Declare VICTORY in Effort to Pass Ban on CIA Torture

WASHINGTON – Earlier today, President Obama signed into law the FY 2016 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The NDAA included a provision authored by Senator McCain and Senator Feinstein that makes permanent the ban on CIA torture.

Rev. Ron Stief, Executive Director of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, released this statement:

"This is a huge victory for people of faith who worked and prayed for an end to torture. We can give thanks today, having taken an important step in defending American values and beginning to restore our country's role as a moral leader in the world.

"The McCain-Feinstein provision requires that the CIA use only ethical, legal interrogation techniques and ensures that the International Committee of the Red Cross has access to all detainees. These are common sense ideas and our leaders were right to write them into law."

Press release from Church World Service and Shoulder to Shoulder Campaign:

For Immediate Release: November 17, 2015
Contact: Megan Cagle, Church World Service, (602) 399-0723, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Faith and Refugee Resettlement Communities Discuss Refugee Crisis, U.S. Response
As the world seeks solutions to the Syrian refugee crisis, faith and refugee resettlement communities urge unity and compassion in the face of anti-refugee, anti-Muslim sentiment

WASHINGTON - Following the senseless attacks in Paris, Beirut and Baghdad, leaders from the Christian, Muslim, and Jewish communities stand together to condemn the violent attacks by extremist groups and the anti-refugee and anti-Muslim reaction from political leaders in the United States.

WHERE: The National Press Club, Bloomberg Room; 529 14th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20045

WHEN: Wednesday, November 18, 2015; 3 p.m.-4 p.m.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Nov. 10, 2015

CONTACT: Benny Witkovsky, West End Strategy Team, Office: (202) 776-7700; cell: (202) 765-4290; This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

National Religious Campaign Against Torture Applauds Congressional Action to Ban CIA Torture Forever

WASHINGTON – Earlier today, the Senate voted to pass the FY 2016 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) – a bill that includes a provision by Senator McCain and Senator Feinstein that would permanently prohibit the CIA from engaging in torture. Having passed the House last week, it is now expected to become law.

Rev. Ron Stief, Executive Director of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, released this statement praising Congress for this morally significant action:

"The CIA torture program was a tragic mistake. Not only was it harmful to our security, but, more importantly, it cast doubt on our country's role as a moral leader in the world. Leaders from the many different American faith communities agree – torture is always wrong.

"By voting to pass the NDAA, a bipartisan majority of Congress voted to put a permanent end to CIA torture. The McCain-Feinstein provision requires that the CIA use only ethical, legal interrogation techniques and ensures that the International Committee of the Red Cross has access to all detainees. This is consistent with American values and with the basic requirement to treat people humanely that is common to all faiths.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Oct. 22, 2015

CONTACT: Benny Witkovsky, West End Strategy Team, Office: (202) 776-7700; cell: (202) 765-4290; This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

WASHINGTON – On Thursday, October 22, President Obama vetoed the FY 2016 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Since it appears unlikely that Congress will over-ride the veto, the President and Congress are expected to now negotiate a new version of the NDAA.

Rev. Ron Stief, Executive Director of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture released this statement addressing two parts of the NDAA:

"When they voted to pass the NDAA, a bipartisan majority of Congress voted to put a permanent end to CIA torture. The McCain-Feinstein provision requires that the CIA use only ethical, legal interrogation techniques and ensures that the International Committee of the Red Cross has access to all detainees. This is consistent with American values, and it is something that Congress and the President should retain in the final NDAA. Torture is always wrong.

CONTACT: Jeri Doherty, NAMI Sussex - 973-214-0632 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Solitary Confinement Conference in Sparta, New Jersey Nov. 7

Sparta, NJ - The National Religious Campaign Against Torture, the American Friends Service Committee, and the Campaign to End the New Jim Crow are partnering with four Sussex County organizations to hold a Solitary Confinement Awareness Conference in Sparta on Saturday, Nov. 7. The conference will take place at Sparta United Methodist Church between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. Local co-sponsors include the Church and Society Committee of Sparta United Methodist Church, the Sophia Inclusive Catholic Community of Sparta, the Social Action Committee of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Sussex County, and NAMI Sussex. The conference is open to the public free of charge, but pre-registration is requested.

Conference attendees will learn about the damage solitary confinement in U.S. jails and prisons inflicts on individual prisoners and on our society as a whole. A powerful video entitled "Breaking Down the Box," provided by the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, can be viewed at 10:00 a.m. or 1:00 p.m.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Oct. 7, 2015

CONTACT: Benny Witkovsky, West End Strategy Team, Office: (202) 776-7700; cell: (202) 765-4290; This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

National Faith Coalition Praises Congress for Rejecting Torture

WASHINGTON – With the Senate's vote earlier today to advance the FY 2016 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), both houses of Congress have now passed legislation that would put a permanent end to CIA torture. Authored by Senator John McCain (R-AZ) and Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA), the McCain-Feinstein provision (included as part of the larger NDAA and passed by the Senate earlier this year with a bi-partisan 78-21 vote) represents a clear and undeniable rejection of torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment in interrogations.

Rev. Ron Stief, Executive Director of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture released this statement:

"Congress deserves our thanks for passing legislation that would put a permanent end to CIA torture. The McCain-Feinstein provision requires that the CIA use only ethical, legal interrogation techniques and ensures that the International Committee of the Red Cross has access to all detainees. Leaders and believers of many different American faith groups have spent the past decade calling on our government to ban CIA torture – and Congress has responded to that call. We can now begin to hope that our government will not torture again.

"However, it is unconscionable that the NDAA also includes provisions that would unreasonably restrict the Administration from transferring even cleared detainees out of Guantanamo. Guantanamo is both a symbolic reminder of our country's use of torture and a place where most detainees are still held without a trial. Keeping Guantanamo open violates core American values."

For Immediate Release: October 1, 2015
Contact: Benny Witkovsky, West End Strategy Team - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ; (o)202-776-7700, (c) 202-765-4290

National Religious Organization Applauds Introduction of Bipartisan Criminal Justice Reform Bill
Legislation Would Dramatically Limit Solitary Confinement of Youth in Federal Prisons

WASHINGTON – Today a bipartisan coalition of U.S. senators introduced the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act of 2015, legislation that will reform a number of critical criminal justice practices including largely prohibiting the solitary confinement of youth in federal prisons. The National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) has mobilized people of faith across the country to oppose solitary confinement, and has specifically led efforts to ban the solitary confinement for juveniles in California and other jurisdictions. Following the introduction of this historic legislation today, Rev. Ron Stief, executive director of NRCAT released this statement:

"Many members of Congress appear ready to admit that it is immoral and counterproductive to put kids in solitary confinement. With this bill, Congress is taking the lead in recognizing the psychological and spiritual pain inflicted by solitary confinement. Our society must no longer subject children to the torture of solitary confinement – a practice that has proven ineffective, costly, and profoundly counterproductive for any goals of rehabilitation in our prisons. In particular, this bill would resolve a huge injustice for our kids here in the District of Columbia, many of whom are in the custody of the U.S. Bureau of Prisons after conviction and are far too often held in solitary confinement. The inherent worth and dignity of every human being means that we do not abandon our children ever, especially behind the closed doors of U.S. prisons."

For Immediate Release: October 1, 2015
Contact: Benny Witkovsky, West End Strategy Team -  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (o) 202-776-7700, (c) 202-765-4290

126 Organizations, Including 39 Religious Organizations, Call on White House to Seek Elimination of Prolonged Solitary Confinement in U.S. Prisons
Letter Follows Presidential Announcement of Nationwide Review of Isolation

WASHINGTON – Today, the National Religious Campaign Against Torture joined 126 organizations, including 39 religious organizations, in urging the White House to ensure that a national review of solitary confinement leads to concrete recommendations to eliminate long-term isolation in United States prisons and jails. In July, before his historic visit to El Reno federal prison, President Obama made his most critical statements on solitary confinement to date and announced the Department of Justice will conduct a national review of the practice.

The letter to the President comes on the heels of a study of the federal Bureau of Prisons' (BOP) use of solitary confinement, which detailed widespread abuse, the placement of persons with severe mental illness in solitary, and estimated that more than 10,000 individuals are held in conditions of isolation by BOP on any given day.

Prolonged solitary confinement has been defined as torture by the United Nations and is widely opposed by human rights, criminal justice reform and religious organizations. The National Religious Campaign Against Torture has mobilized people of faith to oppose solitary confinement for many years. With momentum building over the past months, today over twenty national religious organizations – including the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A), the Union for Reform Judaism, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada, and the Council of Bishops of the United Methodist Church – joined this call for the White House to ensure the nationwide review outlines a clear path toward ending long-term solitary confinement.

Rev. Ron Stief, executive director of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture said, "For people of faith, the widespread practice of prolonged solitary confinement in our nation's prisons and jails is a moral outrage. It is unconscionable that, on any given day, more than 80,000 incarcerated people, including adults and youth, are held in conditions of isolation that we know to be torture. People of color, the poor, and individuals with mental illness bear the brunt of this cruelty. To deny people meaningful human interaction, through solitary confinement, is to violate their very humanity, and debase the divine spark in each of us. To release people directly from solitary confinement into our communities is not only a public safety concern, but betrays our moral commitment to justice that is truly restorative and transformative. For people of faith, it is imperative that the Obama Administration ensure that the nationwide review of solitary confinement create a road map for the elimination of this torture."

For Immediate Release: September 21, 2015
Contact: Benny Witkovsky, West End Strategy Team - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ; (o) 202-776-7700, (c) 202-765-4290

Faith Leader Applauds Pope Francis’ Planned Visit to Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility
Calls On Faith Community to Follow Pope Francis in Continuing to Shine Light on Torture In Prison

WASHINGTON – As Pope Francis begins his historic first trip to the United States he is about to make a powerful statement about the human dignity of the incarcerated. On Sunday, September 27, Pope Francis will visit the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility in Philadelphia to meet with incarcerated individuals and their loved ones. Previously Pope Francis has spoken out powerfully for the rights of incarcerated people, calling “confinement in high security prisons” a form of torture and saying that torture is “a grave sin, but even more, it is a sin against humanity.”

The National Religious Campaign Against Torture organizes people of faith – Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Sikhs and more – to promote restorative justice and an end to torture, particularly the widespread torture of solitary confinement. In anticipation of Pope Francis’ historic visit to Curran-Fromhold, Rev. Ron Stief, executive director of NRCAT, released the following statement:

“To see the reality of life in the United States, particularly for communities of color and the poor in this nation, the Pope must look to our prisons and places of confinement. The U.S. is a global outlier in our rate of incarceration and systemic use of solitary confinement. The Holy Father himself has spoken powerfully about the torture of solitary confinement and its devastating impacts - emotionally, physically and spiritually. On any given day in the United States, more than 80,000 people – disproportionately people of color, individuals with mental illness and those living in poverty – are held in solitary confinement. Too often, they remain invisible. Their cries remain unheard and their prayers remain unanswered.