Resources

Webinar: A Call to End Solitary Confinement

On any given day in the United States and Canada, more than 80,000 adults and youth are held in solitary confinement. Even more disturbing is the reality that there is a widespread practice of holding a disproportionate number of people of color in solitary confinement in United States prisons and in Canadian correctional facilities. Prolonged long-term solitary confinement has detrimental psychological and physiological effects. And studies have shown that at least half of all prison suicides occur in solitary confinement.

Educational Webinar III: A Call to End Solitary Confinement: A Conversation with National Religious Campaign Against Torture

In this November 2015 webinar, the National Benevolent Association (NBA) and the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) discussed these challenging realities and explored how the church should respond. This webinar was offered in response to the 2015 Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) General Assembly resolution: GA-1525 Item for Reflection and Research: A Call to End Solitary Confinement.

Download the presentation slides

Webinar Presenters

Rev. Laura Markle Downton, Director of U.S. Prison Policy and Program, National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT)
Mr. Johnny Perez, Non-Attorney Mental Health Advocate, Urban Justice Center’s Mental Health Project
Moderators: Rev. Monica Wedlock Kilpatrick, Director of the Disciples Care Exchange and NBA Affinity Group Ministries, and Rev. Dean Bucalos, Project Coordinator, Mission Behind Bars and Beyond; Mission Specialist, NBA Prison and Jail Ministries Affinity Group

Additional Resources from NRCAT

“Ending Torture, from the Inside Out,” by Rev. Laura Markle Downton, NRCAT
“Breaking Down the Box,” a 40-minute NRCAT documentary for communities of faith, to expose the torture of solitary confinement in the context of mass incarceration in the United States

This webinar was the third in a series focused on congregational and general church involvement in prison and jail advocacy and ministry. Co-sponsors: NBA Prison and Jail Ministries, Disciples Center for Public Witness, Disciples Justice Action Network, and Reconciliation Ministry.