Dear Friends, On June 1, the federal Bureau of Prisons announced it had instituted a "total lockdown" of all BOP facilities in response to on-going public protests for racial justice throughout the country, despite a lack of unrest within the prisons. Contact your Senators today to urge them to make clear to Attorney General Barr that the federal Bureau of Prisons "total lockdown" in response to public protest was immoral and that it must never happen again. This unconscionable move came on the heels of an almost 500% increase in the numbers of incarcerated people nationwide facing solitary confinement as a result of responses by departments of corrections to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new Unlock the Box report, Solitary Confinement is Never the Answer. The Bureau of Prisons then announced last week it had moved to “modified lockdown” in response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, though details remain few. Help us make clear that as people of faith, we believe that the torture of solitary confinement has no place in our democracy, and that it is a threat to public health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Contact your Senators today. Solitary confinement and the denial of communications with loved ones should never be a response to protests for racial justice, inside or outside the prison walls. And during the COVID-19 pandemic, corrections departments must distinguish humane medical isolation, which is accompanied by adequate protection and mass testing, from the torture of solitary confinement, and institute practices that guard the health of incarcerated people and staff. We must remain vigilant in our advocacy for an end to torture, without exception. We invite you to read and share the full Unlock the Box report, Solitary Confinement is Never the Answer, and share NRCAT’s press release about the report with your faith community. Thank you, Johnny Perez
Director, U.S. Prisons Program | |
| |
