As people of faith we are called to love our neighbors, and to treat others as we wish to be treated. We are called to care for our most vulnerable sisters and brothers, to visit those in prison, and to free the captives.
The Pennsylvania Council of Churches, in partnership with the Abolitionist Law Center and supported by a grant from the Van Ameringen Foundation, is working to dramatically reduce the use of solitary confinement in Pennsylvania. We are advocating for passage of legislation to do this—House Bill 497 and Senate Bill 832. While we are engaging in direct advocacy through visits to legislators, we would like to convey the depth of concern about the use of solitary on the part of Pennsylvania’s faith community, so we have prepared an open letter to all members of Pennsylvania’s General Assembly.
We encourage you to join us by signing the letter at http://org2.salsalabs.com/o/5415/p/dia/action4/common/public/?action_KEY=26889.
From our letter:
Faith communities have for some time viewed the isolation of persons through solitary confinement to be a form of torture—and many of the communities we represent have joined together through the National Religious Campaign Against Torture to work to reduce its use. We point to the acknowledgement that prison isolation fits the definition of torture as stated in several international human rights treaties, and thus constitutes a violation of human rights law. The U.N. Convention Against Torture defines torture as any state-sanctioned act “by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person” for information, punishment, intimidation, or for a reason based on discrimination. Since the 1990s, the U.N. Committee Against Torture has repeatedly condemned the use of solitary confinement in the U.S. In 2011, the U.N. special rapporteur on torture warned that solitary confinement “can amount to torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment when used as a punishment, during pre-trial detention, indefinitely or for a prolonged period, for persons with mental disabilities, or juveniles.”
While we understand that the use of solitary confinement in Pennsylvania’s prisons has declined, it is still used punitively and at far higher levels than should be happening because it is difficult to change the culture that drives it. We are calling for the passage of legislation that would dramatically reduce the use of isolation by prohibiting its use on pregnant women, LGBTQ individuals, inmates age 21 and younger, and inmates age 70 and older and by placing an absolute cap on the duration of solitary confinement at 15 days.
We urge you to join in our call to reduce and restrict the cruel and inhumane practice of solitary confinement by signing on to this letter to members of Pennsylvania’s General Assembly. We aim to deliver this letter no later than early January 2020 when our legislators reconvene after the holiday break.
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