Support Smarter Sentencing

The Smarter Sentencing Act (S.1410), sponsored by Senators Mike Lee (R-UT) and Richard Durbin (D-IL), is an incremental approach to justice reform that would reduce harsh minimum mandatory sentences for low-level drug offenses, help increase fairness, reduce racial disparity, and limit overcrowding in the Bureau of Prisons.

In the PC(USA) we affirm God’s intention of shalom for each child of God and in restorative justice, which, simply put, is “addressing the hurts and the needs of the victim, the offender, and the community in such a way that all—victim, offender, and community—might be healed.”

The Senate Judiciary Committee approved the Safer Sentencing Act on January 30, 2014, and it was placed on the Senate Legislative Calendar on March 11.

Click here to email your Senators in support of the Smarter Sentencing Act.

The federal prison population has increased by 800% since 1980 and the introduction of overly punitive mandatory sentencing policies that targeted people convicted of drug offenses. Nearly half of those federal inmates are serving sentences for drug offenses, many of which are low-level and nonviolent. Today, the Bureau of Prisons is nearly 40 percent over capacity and consumes over 25 percent of the Department of Justice's budget.

Furthermore, the U.S. Sentencing Commission has testified before the Judiciary Committee that African-American and Latino defendants constitute the majority of people subject to mandatory minimum sentences. Opportunities for relief from these overly punitive sentences are rarely made available to defendants of color. Passage of the Smarter Sentencing Act would be an important first step toward restoring fairness in our justice system by limiting this existing racial disparity.

Take action now to support justice reform and smarter, fairer sentencing.

The Presbyterian Church has a long tradition of commitment to justice reform:

• In 1910 the General Assembly declared that the church ought to stand “For the development of a Christian spirit in the attitude of society toward offenders against the law.” (Minutes, PCUSA, 1910, Part I, p. 232). 
• The 215^th GA approved a Resolution Calling for the Abolition of For-Profit Prisons stating, “We believe that the ultimate goal of the criminal justice system should be ‘restorative justice.’” (Resolution on Restorative Justice, Minutes, 2002, Part I, p. 576).
• In 2004, the 214th General Assembly approved a Resolution on Restorative Justice. 
• In 2012, the 220^th GA encouraged Presbyterians to join in the call of US faith leaders to urge the president to sign, and the Senate to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture in order to reduce risk of torture and abuse in U.S. prisons.
• In February 2014, Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson II, Director of the PC(USA) Office of Public Witness, joined thousands of Presbyterians, ministers, theologians, and lay people who marched to the state capital in North Carolina.  This Moral Monday march included a focus to end disparities based on class and race in the criminal justice system. 

June is Torture Awareness Month

Hebrews 13:3 (NRSV)

Remember those who are in prison,

As though you were in prison with them;

Those who are being tortured,

As though you yourselves were being tortured.

Join us at vigils nationwide on Tuesday June 26^th as we remember torture victims and raise awareness about the use of torture at the domestic and international levels.

Torture is a poignant social justice concern because its use not only ignores individual rights but violates human dignity. As Christians, we believe that each individual is made in the image of God and thus has intrinsic dignity and worth. Torture then becomes “a form of intimate, humiliating terror, a crime against the human spirit and God’s image in us” (Resolution on Torture 2006). Torture occurs worldwide and is used by US affiliated organizations and individuals even though the US Government has signed and ratified conventions against its practice (UN Declaration of Human Rights, UN Convention against Torture, the International Covenant on Civic and Political Rights). Awareness and accountability are necessary in order to end torture.

June is Torture Awareness Month and the PC(USA) Office of Public Witness has partnered with the National Religious Campaign against Torture (NRCAT) and various human rights organizations to coordinate events under the theme “2012 – Confronting the Culture of Torture.” NRCAT has provided a variety of resources and suggested activities for congregations. These include worship resources, DVDs with discussion guides, banners and resources for grassroots advocacy. The Resolution Against Torture, published by the PC(USA) after 217^th General Assembly in 2006, is another resource you can use to inform yourself and others. Continued advocacy is needed in order to confront the culture of torture and bring the practice to an end.

We encourage you to participate in Torture Awareness Month events on the local and national level.

• Vigils are coordinated nationwide on Tuesday, June 26^th, which is the UN International Day in Support of Torture Victims. A list of local vigils can be found here. In Washington, D.C., we are hosting a screening of the new documentary “Doctors of the Dark Side” at E Street Cinemas (11^th and E Streets) at 6:00pm. This screening will be preceded by a vigil at the US Navy War Memorial (8^th St and Pennsylvania Ave) from 4:30pm to 5:30pm.
• A toolkit for organizing a vigil in your area can be found here.
• Inform yourself and others by watching these NRCAT videos “Repairing the Brokenness” (10  minutes) and “Solitary Confinement: Torture in Your Backyard” (20 minutes). Discussion guides and other resources can be accessed through the above links.
• If you are in the Washington, D.C. area, consider joining us on June 24^th for the DC March Against Torture, Guantanamo & NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act) from 1-2:30pm at the Capitol Reflecting Pool.  

For a more complete list of Torture Awareness Month events, consult the Torture Awareness Month page of the NRCAT website.

“The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) opposes the use of torture and all forms of ‘cruel, inhuman, or degrading’ interrogation by all agencies, employees, or agents of the United States government, and all foreign governments and/or combatants, and supports the application of the Geneva Conventions to all enemy soldiers and the humane treatment with due process for all combatants held by U.S. forces anywhere in the world, and supports the provisions of the Bill of Rights and the principles of judicial review and congressional oversight over Executive branch operations, now including counterterrorism, Homeland Security, and domestic surveillance programs, both classified and publicly acknowledged.” (Resolution on Human Rights 2006)

Save the Date: No! to Prison Privatization

SAVE THE DATE!

Say No! to Prison Privatization
National Call-in Day:
Wednesday, April 18 

Wednesday, April 18, is the National Call-in Day to State Governors to say No to Prison Privatization! A letter was sent recently to 48 U.S. governors announcing the Corrections Corp. of America’s “Investment Initiative” to spend up to $250 million to buy prisons from state, local, and federal governments. The "initiative" requires a minimum commitment of 20 years for the facility, maintaining 90% capacity over the 20-year period.

Over 35 national faith organizations, including the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), urged the governors to decline this dangerous, costly invitation. To ensure that our states do not move toward increased privatization of correctional services, we call for evidence-based policies and practices proven to reduce recidivism and a reduction in the prison population.

The PC(USA) Office of Public Witness is partnering with the United Methodist General Board of Church and Society, as well as several other partners in the faith community, to oppose this effort to privatize prisons. 

Join with people of faith next Wednesday, April 18, in urging state governors to commit publicly by June 1^st, to decline CCA’s offer to buy up and privatize state prisons.*

In 2003, the 215^th General Assembly approved a Resolution Calling for the Abolition of For-Profit Prisons:

We believe that the ultimate goal of the criminal justice system should be “restorative justice”: “addressing the hurts and the needs of the victim, the offender, and the community in such a way that all—victim, offender, and community—might be healed” (Resolution on Restorative Justice, Minutes, 2002, Part I, p. 576)…

Since the goal of for-profit private prisons is earning a profit for their shareholders, there is a basic and fundamental conflict with the concept of rehabilitation as the ultimate goal of the prison system. We believe that this is a glaring and significant flaw in our justice system and that for-profit private prisons should be abolished…

Even if for-profit private prisons could achieve significant cost savings to the taxpayer, which in fact they have not been able to do, they would still be morally unacceptable. Private prisons are not an economic but a deep religious and ethical issue, a cornerstone of our collective work to put justice back into the so-called “criminal justice system.” The moral concern and authority of the faith community make it critical that our voices be heard and our weight be felt.

The resurrection story is our call to work for restorative justice in our own time. We are a people of new life in the face of hatred and death. Increased profit from endless imprisonment means death to families and communities, and eliminates the possibility for new life and restoration.

Raise your voice on April 18 as we call for state governors to publicly decline CCA’s offer to privatize by June 1.

* This link will take you to the website of the United Methodist General Board of Church and Society.  Sign up for a reminder for the call-in day, and that reminder will include instructions for calling your governor.