"State agrees to ease long isolation for prisoners" was the front page article of the LA Times on Wednesday, September 2. Local, national and international news covered the historic settlement of a lawsuit, Ashker Vs. Governor of California, in which California Department of Corrections agreed to end its practice of prolonged, indefinite solitary confinement. For many years, the California prison system has kept thousands of persons in solitary confinement. The average time in solitary has been 6.7 years; many persons have been in solitary for decades. This is a time in California that all people of conscience, and especially people of faith, can celebrate.
The movement to end prolonged solitary confinement nationwide has been gaining attention in the past year. President Obama, Justice Kennedy, and Pope Francis have each spoken out about how important it is to reform this torturous practice.
The inmates who brought the lawsuit said in a written statement released by their lawyers: "This settlement represents a monumental victory for prisoners and an important step of ending solitary confinement in California, and across the country. The prisoners' human rights movement is awakening the conscience of the nation to recognize that we are fellow human beings."
In our earliest sacred story, God says that humankind should not be alone, and that God would create a companion. The human family is intended to live in community. To isolate human beings from meaningful human contact, from looking into the face of another person, is antithetical to this vision.
You are invited to celebrate this victory with the lead counsel in the lawsuit, Jules Lobel, president of the Center for Constitutional Rights, on Sunday, Sept. 13, 2:30-4:30 PM. The new location for this event, because of a greater than expected response, will be St. Luke's Episcopal Church, 535 E. 7th Street at Atlantic, Long Beach, CA, 90813.
This event is co-sponsored by the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, of which PCU is a Participating Member; California Families to Abolish Solitary Confinement; and the Family Unity Network. To RSVP, or with any questions, email me or give me a call at 818-225-0410.
I hope to see you there!
Virginia Classick
Former PCU Board Member, 2005-2014