Dear Friends, I am writing to ask for your financial support today of NRCAT’s work in support of racial justice and an end to torture in U.S. prisons. At this moment of collective outrage and protest in response to the brutal killing of black people at the hands of police, and as the COVID-19 pandemic continues, our work to end the torture of solitary confinement is facing new obstacles. Solitary should never be a response to protests for racial justice, inside or outside the prison walls. Yet alarmingly, last week the federal Bureau of Prisons announced that it had placed all BOP facilities under system-wide lockdown in response to on-going protests for racial justice in our communities, impacting all of the roughly 164,000 incarcerated people in federal facilities nationwide. In addition, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many state and local prisons and jails have placed entire facilities under lockdown, denying in-person visits, recreation, and critical therapeutic programs. There is widespread fear among incarcerated people to report symptoms that could land them in isolation in solitary confinement cells. Recently I joined a car rally in support of the #HALTsolitary campaign in New York in an effort to urge Governor Cuomo to ensure that solitary confinement is not used as a containment strategy during the pandemic. Torture is no solution to a public health crisis. If there was ever a time to support NRCAT’s work on behalf of all those who are serving time in a prison or a jail, it is now. When I was in solitary, I was told people on the outside did not care that I existed. After a while I began to believe it, not because it was true, but because solitary robs a person of their ability to hope. Many on the outside fought for me long before I knew they existed, and today I protest alongside them. Your financial support during Torture Awareness Month enables NRCAT to maintain pressure on governors, heads of state correctional institutions, and state legislators to prioritize the health and safety of incarcerated people during this humanitarian crisis. Thank you,
Johnny Perez, Director
U.S. Prisons Program | 
