CALL TO ACTION: As you all know, I have been very vocal about my brothers repeated solitary confinement during the last 20 years he has been in prison. While our family recently had a small victory, in that our advocacy resulted in his being released from solitary confinement, thousands of others in Indiana continue to suffer under the inhumane and oft arbitrary punishment of solitary confinement. My father, Mmoja Ajabu has worked diligently with Indianas Senator Taylor regarding this issue and -- another small victory -- Senator Taylor has authored Senate Bill 557 calling for all Indiana prisons to abide by the provisions of the (1) United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners and the (2) United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; when placing and holding committed persons in solitary confinement or other forms of prolonged isolation. This bill would allow committed persons to file a complaint with an Ombudsman if they felt the prison was not following these provisions. One of the most important parts of those provisions is that solitary confinement shall not exceed 15 consecutive days. The bill has been referred to the Committee on Corrections & Criminal Law. Senator Mike Young is the Chair of that committee and the power to give the bill a hearing is at his discretion. So here is the CALL TO ACTION. Please call or email Senator Mike Young and request that he grant Senate Bill 557 a hearing. His phone number is 317-595-0215 and email is [email protected] Once you have either called or emailed, please comment on this post, so we can have a gross estimate of the amount advocacy. I thank you in advance for supporting this issue which has become so personal for my and other countless families across Indiana and the rest of this nation. Solitary Confinement reform is sweeping the nation, and this is Indianas opportunity to join the movement. Its up to us to make sure Indiana elected officials dont let it pass. Here is a link to the full text of the bill: https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2015/bills/senate/557…
Posted on: Fri, 23 Jan 2015 00:31:34 +0000
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