News Archives » solitary confinement
Solitary Nation April 28th, 2014
Last week, PBS FRONTLINE aired Solitary Nation, portraying the brutal reality of solitary confinement in a Maine maximum-security prison. FRONTLINE has made a significant contribution to the work to end torture by revealing, in graphic detail, the heart wrenching inhumanity of isolation.
Viewers meet a young father, desperate to earn his GED, who deteriorates repeatedly under the crushing reality of daily life in solitary confinement. And yet the inhumanity of isolation in this one prison is ongoing in prisons, jails and detention centers throughout the U.S. The full video is free and available for viewing here: http://to.pbs.org/1lNv83j
We invite you to view the video, and share it with members of your community. Thoughts and additional resources to consider when viewing the film are enclosed in a viewers guide below, and available for download here. This material is from the National Religious Campaign Against Torture: www.tortureisamoralissue.org, of which Oblate JPIC is a member.
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Celebrate Human Rights Day: December 10th October 28th, 2013
On December 10, 2013, the world community will commemorate the 65th anniversary of the adoption and proclamation of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. On this day, we are being encouraged by the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) – as people of faith, who acknowledge the dignity of every human being – to reaffirm the Universal Declaration’s statement that “no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
The National Religious Campaign Against Torture’s theme for Human Rights Day 2013 is “Confronting Solitary Confinement in an Age of Mass Incarceration.” NRCAT developed a Human Rights Day toolkit to help congregations and religious organizations observe the day. The 2013 toolkit includes:
- A bulletin insert with educational material and an interfaith prayer
- A poster for the promotion of Human Rights Day
- Talking points for integrating the reality of solitary confinement into sermons and prayers during worship
- Links to other worship resources, as well as to educational and advocacy activities that congregations can do to commemorate Human Rights Day
We encourage you to observe Human Rights Day during worship services, as a part of your religious education efforts and through advocacy activities during either the weekend of December 6-8, December 13-15, or another time of your choosing. If your congregation plans to commemorate Human Rights Day in any way, please let NRCAT know.
Access the NRCAT Human Rights Day Toolkit (Download PDF)
Torture in Your Backyard: National Religious Campaign Against Torture March 20th, 2012
The National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) has released a 20-minute film, Solitary Confinement: Torture in Your Backyard, as a resource for parishes and religious congregations to learn about the destructive use of prolonged solitary confinement and to engage people of faith to call for an end to prolonged solitary confinement in their state. The film features several former prisoners discussing the mental harm they endured as a result of being held in solitary confinement and highlights how the religious community in Maine helped secure a seventy percent reduction in the number of Maine prisoners held in solitary confinement. The Missionary Oblates JPIC office is a member of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT)
