Join us in prayer regarding the issue of juveniles in solitary confinement.
From the National Council of Church’s statement on this issue:
The National Council of Churches applauds President Obama’s order banning the use of solitary confinement for juvenile offenders in the federal prison system. This ban comes on the heels of the Supreme Court’s ruling that its 2012 decision banning mandatory life sentences for juveniles can be retroactively applied. We are particularly excited about this steady movement of reform that impacts juveniles and see these decisions as important steps toward creating a more humane and moral criminal justice system.
“This gives us great hope in our efforts to transform the broken criminal justice system from one focused on punishment and retribution to one focused on rehabilitation and restoration,” said Rev. Aundreia Alexander, Associate General Secretary for Action and Advocacy for Justice and Peace.
While we welcome the new restrictions on the use of solitary confinement to 60 days (down from a previous limit of 365 days), we question if this limit is still too long.
We invite you to pray about this issue and then take appropriate action if your prayers lead you to do so.
Click here to read the National Council of Church’s full statement
Click here to read President Obama’s Op-Ed on why we must rethink solitary confinement
