Join a State Campaign to End Prolonged Solitary Confinement

NRCAT supports state partner organizations in their work to educate the faith community about the use of prolonged solitary confinement and to advocate for legislation to end its use.  In states where NRCAT does not have a designated local partner, but legislation or other significant efforts to limit solitary confinement are underway, NRCAT informs people of faith about these efforts and provides advocacy tools.  We encourage you to learn more about and join these current state efforts:      

• California
• Colorado
• Illinois
• Maine
• New Jersey
• New York
• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• Texas
• Virginia

If you have questions or comments about any of the state campaigns above or about starting a campaign in another state, please contact Heather Rice, NRCAT's Director of U.S. Prisons Policy & Program, at hrice@nrcat.org.   

Start a State Campaign to End Prolonged Solitary Confinement

Not from the above states?  Consider starting a campaign in your state!  The first step is educating people of faith about the severe harm caused by prolonged solitary confinement.  The second step is mobilizing the faith community to advocate against the use of prolonged solitary confinement.  Below are some tools to get you started:

Step 1:  Educate

• Ask people of faith to read and endorse NRCAT's Statement Against Prolonged Solitary Confinement 
• Share and discuss NRCAT's film, Solitary Confinement: Torture in Your Backyard

Step 2:  Mobilize

• Read this report containing experiences and lessons learned during Maine’s 2010 legislative session - identifying partners and allies, organizing the religious community, developing a strategy, public relations and messaging, and connecting with prisoners. For example, the coalition successfully changed the public discourse by identifying long-term solitary confinement as torture.
• Review examples of legislation to study or limit the use of solitary confinement that have been introduced in other states