Dear Friends, As the Senate turns its attention this week to the House-passed Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act, which provides broad federal economic relief for the impact of COVID-19, we need your help to ensure incarcerated people aren’t left behind. We encourage you to call your Senators today to ensure that COVID-19 relief legislation includes the Emergency Community Supervision Act, which would save lives and protect incarcerated people by reducing the number of individuals in federal custody as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Already passed by the House as part of the HEROES Act, this legislation would transition vulnerable people and those nearing the end of their sentence from incarceration to community supervision, limit the use of pretrial detention, and limit the use of incarceration as a sanction for a parole violation. Please call your Senators now. You can get connected to their offices by calling the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121.
Sample Script: As a person of faith and your constituent, I am calling to urge the Senator to ensure that any new COVID-related stimulus legislation includes the Emergency Community Supervision Act – which lessens the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in federal prisons by reducing the number of people in federal custody. Thank you for taking action today to ensure our sisters and brothers who are incarcerated receive protection during this perilous time. Sincerely, Rev. Ron Stief
Executive Director
PS – For background on NRCAT’s work to reduce the use of solitary confinement in federal prisons during the pandemic: In June, NRCAT launched a Never Again campaign, asking U.S. Senators to hold Attorney General Barr accountable for the unprecedented lock-down of all people in federal custody in response to the nationwide protests over the killing of George Floyd and systemic racism. NRCAT also assisted in the recent release of a study by the Unlock the Box Campaign documenting a 500% increase in the use of solitary confinement in U.S. prisons as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic - check out coverage from NPR. |
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