Rule 43 of the United Nations' "Nelson Mandela" Rules prohibits the use of indefinite or prolonged solitary confinement (also known as “restrictive housing”) in prisons as an act that amounts “to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” Yet, on any given day in the United States, upwards of 122,000 people are in solitary confinement for at least 22 hours in federal and state prisons and local jails. Tens of thousands of people are cruelly isolated in small cells and deprived of meaningful stimulation and physical activity for days, months or even years in the name of public safety. But studies have shown that the use of solitary does not increase safety within or outside of prison walls with those who have been in solitary experiencing higher rates of death by suicide, homicide, or opioid overdose post-incarceration than those who were not. The lived experiences of solitary survivors also bare the real harms of this practice.

States like New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut are leading the way to ending torture in our prisons by passing legislation that completely banned the use of prolonged solitary confinement in their state prisons and jails and others. We must call on Congress to do the same and end the use of torture in the form of solitary confinement in our federal prisons and jails. We ask that they introduce and pass legislation that:

Ends solitary confinement in federal prisons, jails and other detention settings with limited exceptions for emergency de-escalation.
Imposes strict due process protections, including access to representation and neutral decision-makers.
Creates oversight and enforcement mechanisms
Incentivize states and municipalities to adopt similar bans on solitary confinement

As people of faith who follow Christ that proclaimed release to the captive, let us act as Christ’s body to proclaim the release of those tortured in our name to create a truly just system of restoration, not retribution. Call on your representatives today.