23 Hour Fast to End 23 Hour Solitary Confinement: June 18th-19th

Torture is a reality here on U.S. soil as well as abroad. The U.S. is a world leader in holding prisoners in prolonged solitary confinement. This practice is not only cruel and inhumane, under certain circumstances it can amount to torture.

“…solitary confinement is a cruel practice which causes permanent psychological damage to those who have been treated in that manner [which]…even in the absence of brutality can cause emotional damage, hallucinations, delusions, de-personalization and decline[d] mental functioning…Solitary confinement is banned under…the Geneva Conventions as it amounts to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” -Amnesty International

In the U.S., there are 44 state-run super-max prisons and one federal super-max prison, each of which holds inmates exclusively in solitary confinement. At least 80,000 people in the U.S. criminal justice system are held in solitary confinement on any given day.

The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Human Rights will hold the first-ever Congressional hearing on solitary confinement this Tuesday, June 19^th.

We are partnering with the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) in calling for a nationwide 23 hour fast beginning the day before the hearing. This fast symbolizes the 23 hours per day prisoners spend in solitary confinement cells. Sign up here to join people of faith fasting across the nation from 1 p.m., Monday, June 18th until Noon, Tuesday, June 19^th including our very own Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson II. We also invite you to participate in a picture campaign on Facebook and Twitter. Take a picture of yourself holding a sign declaring why this issue is important to you, why you decided to act, or a statistic about solitary confinement. Here are some examples: “I stand in solidarity with those suffering in solitary”, “23 Hour Fast to End 23 Hour Solitary”, “I fast because____.” Then post your picture to the NRCAT event page on Facebook and use it as your profile picture June 18^th and 19^th. If you use Instagram, please post your photo and send it out through both Facebook and Twitter. 

For those who are in the D.C. area, please consider joining us at the hearing on Tuesday, June 19^th at 10:00 a.m. in Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room 226. This is a unique and meaningful opportunity. A well-attended hearing would show strong support for ending prolonged solitary confinement in U.S. prisons, so please come on the 19^th, even if only for a short period of time. Please tell us if you are able to join us at the hearing by using this form.

As we have seen in recent prisoner hunger strikes in Virginia and California, refusing food is one of the few means prisoners across the country have to protest their conditions in solitary confinement. Praying and fasting will provide a powerful testimony that people of faith care deeply about limiting the use of solitary confinement.

To learn more about solitary confinement, go to NRCAT's page on Torture in U.S. Prisons and watch "Solitary Confinement: Torture in Your Backyard," a 20-minute film produced by NRCAT which features survivor testimonies and speakers from multiple faith perspectives.  

Thank you in advance for your participation in this incredible opportunity to shine a light in some of our nation’s darkest places. As we address the issue of torture domestically and internationally, let this fast be one way in which we, as a nation, pay attention to the log in our own eye and not only the speck in our neighbor's eye (Matthew 7:3-5).

LINKS:

·   Sign-Up Form: www.surveymonkey.com/s/FKQG2D5

·   Sample Tweet: Plz join me 4 the “23 Hour Fast to End 23 Hour Solitary” starting June 18 1pm. http://www.nrcat.org/23HourFast #23HourFast via @NRCATtweets

·   Facebook page to share: www.facebook.com/events/406272916089904

·   Prayer for use during the fast: www.nrcat.org/23_hour_fast_prayer

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s concern for prisoners has been established for almost a century. In 1910, the General Assembly declared that the church ought to stand: 

For the development of a Christian spirit in the attitude of society toward offenders against the law. The Church holds that a Christian society must seek the reformation of offenders, and that it must endeavor to prevent the commission of crimes by furnishing a wholesome environment and by such education as will develop moral sense and industrial efficiency in the young (Minutes , PCUSA, 1910, Part I, p. 232).

…The ultimate goal of the criminal justice system should be “restorative justice”: “addressing the hurts and the needs of the victim, the offender, and the community in such a way that all—victim, offender, and community—might be healed” ( Resolution on Restorative Justice, Minutes , 2002, Part I, p. 576 ).

…Encourage all Presbyterians…to work to protect the health, welfare, and well-being of the prisoners that are held in these facilities.

(Resolution Calling for the Abolition of For-Profit Private Prisons, 2003)

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June is Torture Awareness Month

Hebrews 13:3 (NRSV)

Remember those who are in prison,

As though you were in prison with them;

Those who are being tortured,

As though you yourselves were being tortured.

Join us at vigils nationwide on Tuesday June 26^th as we remember torture victims and raise awareness about the use of torture at the domestic and international levels.

Torture is a poignant social justice concern because its use not only ignores individual rights but violates human dignity. As Christians, we believe that each individual is made in the image of God and thus has intrinsic dignity and worth. Torture then becomes “a form of intimate, humiliating terror, a crime against the human spirit and God’s image in us” (Resolution on Torture 2006). Torture occurs worldwide and is used by US affiliated organizations and individuals even though the US Government has signed and ratified conventions against its practice (UN Declaration of Human Rights, UN Convention against Torture, the International Covenant on Civic and Political Rights). Awareness and accountability are necessary in order to end torture.

June is Torture Awareness Month and the PC(USA) Office of Public Witness has partnered with the National Religious Campaign against Torture (NRCAT) and various human rights organizations to coordinate events under the theme “2012 – Confronting the Culture of Torture.” NRCAT has provided a variety of resources and suggested activities for congregations. These include worship resources, DVDs with discussion guides, banners and resources for grassroots advocacy. The Resolution Against Torture, published by the PC(USA) after 217^th General Assembly in 2006, is another resource you can use to inform yourself and others. Continued advocacy is needed in order to confront the culture of torture and bring the practice to an end.

We encourage you to participate in Torture Awareness Month events on the local and national level.

• Vigils are coordinated nationwide on Tuesday, June 26^th, which is the UN International Day in Support of Torture Victims. A list of local vigils can be found here. In Washington, D.C., we are hosting a screening of the new documentary “Doctors of the Dark Side” at E Street Cinemas (11^th and E Streets) at 6:00pm. This screening will be preceded by a vigil at the US Navy War Memorial (8^th St and Pennsylvania Ave) from 4:30pm to 5:30pm.
• A toolkit for organizing a vigil in your area can be found here.
• Inform yourself and others by watching these NRCAT videos “Repairing the Brokenness” (10  minutes) and “Solitary Confinement: Torture in Your Backyard” (20 minutes). Discussion guides and other resources can be accessed through the above links.
• If you are in the Washington, D.C. area, consider joining us on June 24^th for the DC March Against Torture, Guantanamo & NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act) from 1-2:30pm at the Capitol Reflecting Pool.  

For a more complete list of Torture Awareness Month events, consult the Torture Awareness Month page of the NRCAT website.

“The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) opposes the use of torture and all forms of ‘cruel, inhuman, or degrading’ interrogation by all agencies, employees, or agents of the United States government, and all foreign governments and/or combatants, and supports the application of the Geneva Conventions to all enemy soldiers and the humane treatment with due process for all combatants held by U.S. forces anywhere in the world, and supports the provisions of the Bill of Rights and the principles of judicial review and congressional oversight over Executive branch operations, now including counterterrorism, Homeland Security, and domestic surveillance programs, both classified and publicly acknowledged.” (Resolution on Human Rights 2006)

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Save the Date: No! to Prison Privatization

SAVE THE DATE!

Say No! to Prison Privatization
National Call-in Day:
Wednesday, April 18 

Wednesday, April 18, is the National Call-in Day to State Governors to say No to Prison Privatization! A letter was sent recently to 48 U.S. governors announcing the Corrections Corp. of America’s “Investment Initiative” to spend up to $250 million to buy prisons from state, local, and federal governments. The "initiative" requires a minimum commitment of 20 years for the facility, maintaining 90% capacity over the 20-year period.

Over 35 national faith organizations, including the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), urged the governors to decline this dangerous, costly invitation. To ensure that our states do not move toward increased privatization of correctional services, we call for evidence-based policies and practices proven to reduce recidivism and a reduction in the prison population.

The PC(USA) Office of Public Witness is partnering with the United Methodist General Board of Church and Society, as well as several other partners in the faith community, to oppose this effort to privatize prisons. 

Join with people of faith next Wednesday, April 18, in urging state governors to commit publicly by June 1^st, to decline CCA’s offer to buy up and privatize state prisons.*

In 2003, the 215^th General Assembly approved a Resolution Calling for the Abolition of For-Profit Prisons:

We believe that the ultimate goal of the criminal justice system should be “restorative justice”: “addressing the hurts and the needs of the victim, the offender, and the community in such a way that all—victim, offender, and community—might be healed” (Resolution on Restorative Justice, Minutes, 2002, Part I, p. 576)…

Since the goal of for-profit private prisons is earning a profit for their shareholders, there is a basic and fundamental conflict with the concept of rehabilitation as the ultimate goal of the prison system. We believe that this is a glaring and significant flaw in our justice system and that for-profit private prisons should be abolished…

Even if for-profit private prisons could achieve significant cost savings to the taxpayer, which in fact they have not been able to do, they would still be morally unacceptable. Private prisons are not an economic but a deep religious and ethical issue, a cornerstone of our collective work to put justice back into the so-called “criminal justice system.” The moral concern and authority of the faith community make it critical that our voices be heard and our weight be felt.

The resurrection story is our call to work for restorative justice in our own time. We are a people of new life in the face of hatred and death. Increased profit from endless imprisonment means death to families and communities, and eliminates the possibility for new life and restoration.

Raise your voice on April 18 as we call for state governors to publicly decline CCA’s offer to privatize by June 1.

* This link will take you to the website of the United Methodist General Board of Church and Society.  Sign up for a reminder for the call-in day, and that reminder will include instructions for calling your governor. 

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