The Rev. Sandra L. Strauss/My Turn
The U.S. Penitentiary at Lewisburg in a Aug. 2014 file photo
The recent NPR/Marshall Project reports of torture at the Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary may have been a revelation for many Americans, but for those of us who are concerned about criminal justice, this is another horrifying story of abuses that exist within our local, state, and federal prison systems. And for those most familiar with this facility, it is certainly not news — but perhaps it provides the exposure needed to finally lead to long overdue reforms after many years of reported abuse.
The Pennsylvania Council of Churches, along with faith partners throughout the country, has long recognized solitary confinement as torture. However, “ordinary” solitary confinement pales in comparison to the treatment that residents of Lewisburg’s Special Management Unit (SMU) have experienced at the hands of prison staff: double-celling in 6-foot by 10-foot cells (where one or both have histories of violent behavior); shackling of prisoners when they express fear of a potential cellmate — including restraints fastened so tightly they cut off circulation and cause nerve damage; exposure to winter cold with minimal clothing and the inability to access water or toilet facilities; lack of mental health treatment; and “four-point” restraints that bind arms and legs to each of the four corners of a bed. The descriptions of this treatment that have been presented are particularly shocking and disturbing.
We understand torture as the systematic abuse of persons who have been identified as our enemies or as “bad” or problematic persons. By that definition, the conditions for residents in the Lewisburg SMU can indeed be labeled as torture. So for us, as people of faith, we believe that what is happening at Lewisburg is reprehensible and wrong, and is against the teachings of a loving Jesus. This kind of treatment “violates the basic dignity of the human person that all religions, in their highest ideals, hold dear.” The “Golden Rule” dictates that we should never authorize or use any methods of punishment that we would not find acceptable if used against us; therefore, we believe that we must never engage in such cruel and inhuman behavior.
And as awful as this treatment is for those who are the targets, all are victims. Torture “degrades everyone involved — policy-makers, perpetrators and victims. It contradicts our nation’s most cherished ideals. Any policies that permit torture and inhumane treatment are shocking and morally intolerable.”
A little more than a year ago, I took the opportunity to spend 15 minutes in a solitary cell replica at a conference hosted by the Council. That 15 minutes, complete with a soundtrack of what someone living in such a cell would hear day-in and day-out, felt like an eternity. When I emerged to come face-to-face with a colleague asking how I was, tears flooded my eyes and I felt a rush of emotion and horror that I’d never felt before. If that happened to me after just 15 minutes, imagine being locked up for days, weeks, months, or years with either little to no human contact, or in a confined space with someone who could injure, maim, or kill you at any time. And imagine that it’s either that or be subject to painful, inhumane shackling or other abuse.
We must not turn our eyes from the stories, pictures, and videos that paint the picture of conditions for the prisoners at Lewisburg. We must be more like the blind men on the roadside near Jericho, crying out to Jesus, “Lord, let our eyes be opened,” so that we might be touched with the gift of sight to see and understand what is happening to our fellow human beings who are confined in our jails and prisons.
Finally, we must contact our local, state, and federal elected and appointed officials to demand better. We must hold them accountable to enact the reforms needed to end the torture that exists in Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary and in every place where people are sentenced to serve time for crimes they may have committed. We must join hands across religious, racial, ethnic, gender, and other invisible lines that may exist to work together for a more humane system.
The Rev. Sandra L. Strauss is Director of Advocacy and Ecumenical Outreach for the Pennsylvania Council of Churches in Harrisburg.
Tom Buglio
Absolutely revolting. We cannot call ourselves an advanced nation when we treat our prisoners like this.