Dear Friends,

We are excited to share the launch of a new short film series produced by NRCAT, Humans Out of Solitary. This collection of short interviews with 30 survivors of solitary confinement in U.S. prisons spotlights stories of unwavering perseverance, hope for a better future, and ultimately reveals our need to come together to make transformative change.

Each interview in the Humans Out of Solitary series highlights experiences of survivors both inside prison and life on the outside. These 3-4-minute conversations bring the viewer face to face with insights into the most important criminal justice policy challenges of our time, as well as solutions from the true experts: those who have experienced the criminal legal system firsthand. 

NRCAT’s Humans Out of Solitary interview with Donna Hylton, leading criminal justice and women’s rights advocate, was featured by USA Today this week. Ms. Hylton was incarcerated for nearly three decades and now she is turning her pain into purpose. Today, she is on a mission to support women and girls by advancing policy reform across the U.S. She authored A Little Piece of Light, a memoir covering her journey through incarceration, harm, and now the leader she has become.

Watch and share:

Humans Out of Solitary is a powerful companion video series to NRCAT’s documentary, Torture In Our Name. Humans Out of Solitary is designed to enable you to bring the voices of solitary survivors into your social justice work and gatherings with ease. We invite you to share the Humans Out of Solitary short films in a variety of contexts, including on social media, and as an introduction to presentations, sermons, webinars, or meetings.

We also encourage you to invite the series participants into your community for further discussion, to lead workshops on the topics they discuss and to explore solutions to the complex issues raised in the series. I invite you to contact Laura Markle Downton, NRCAT’s Director of Faith and Community Engagement, at [email protected] to explore ways to share these powerful resources with your faith or other communities. 

Over the next few months, NRCAT will be featuring different interviews on our various platforms. Watch the first 4 today.

Thank you for joining with us in this opportunity to amplify the Humans Out of Solitary series and promote stories that challenge dehumanizing narratives and call our communities and elected officials to the pursuit of transformative justice.

Sincerely,

Johnny Perez
Director, NRCAT’s U.S. Prisons Program