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To: Clergy and religious, parish communicators, prison ministers, social justice ministries and campus ministers
From: Jayna Hoffacker, director of Restorative Justice Ministry; Office of Life, Dignity and Justice
Each June, human rights and faith organizations join to mark Torture Awareness Month.
The National Religious Campaign Against Torture offers a number of resources to engage in education and advocacy against torture during this month, this year focusing on abolishing solitary confinement. Below are some suggested activities for engaging your parish in this observance:
- Host a film screening of the NRCAT film Torture in Our Name. This documentary features movement leaders with firsthand experience of solitary confinement and faith leaders from three state campaigns to end solitary. A discussion guide is also available for use in faith communities. Click here to learn more.
- Sign and share NRCAT’s National Pledge to end solitary confinement. Click here to sign.
- Take action and advocate with Georgia’s elected officials through Unlock the Box’s action center. The conditions in Georgia’s state prisons continue to be in dire need of reform, particularly with regard to solitary confinement units. The solitary unit at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson was only improved after a lawsuit was filed against the Georgia Department of Corrections. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “one inspector found [the unit] to have created some of the most psychologically traumatized inmates he’d ever encountered.” Click here to contact state legislators and demand the end of torture through solitary confinement in our state prisons.
For questions or more information, contact me at jhoffacker@archatl.com or 404-920-7898.
