What:
D.C. Councilmember Brianne Nadeau and the Unlock the Box Coalition will hold a rally to urge the D.C. Council to pass the Eliminating Restrictive and Segregated Enclosures (ERASE) Solitary Confinement Act.
Speakers will share the results of an ACLU-D.C. poll that shows wide support among D.C. voters for ending solitary confinement in the District as well as personal experiences with solitary confinement and research that supports swift passage of the ERASE Solitary Confinement Act.
After the rally, members of the Unlock the Box Coalition will meet with D.C. Council members to urge them to schedule a hearing for the ERASE Solitary Confinement Act, which was re-introduced by Councilmember Nadeau on September 6 and co-sponsored by seven other Council members.
When & Where:
9:30 AM
Thursday November 16, 2023
The John Wilson Building
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest Washington, DC 20004
Who:
Councilmember Brianne Nadeau
Unlock the Box Coalition, a local coalition of survivors of solitary confinement and other transformative justice advocates working to end the use of solitary confinement in all its forms in the District of Columbia. Speakers from the coalition include:
Melissa Wasser, ACLU-D.C. Policy Counsel
Pastor Delonte Gholston, Peace Fellowship Church
Natasha White, Interfaith Action for Human Right
Damon Jones, D.C. Unlock the Box DC Advocate
Herbert Robinson, Unlock the Box DC Co-facilitator
Makia Green, Community Organizer
Why:
On September 6, 2023 Councilmember Brianne K. Nadeau (D-Ward 1) re-introduced the Eliminating Restrictive and Segregated Enclosures (ERASE) Solitary Confinement Act, which would strictly limit all forms of solitary confinement for individuals incarcerated at penal institutions owned, operated, or controlled by the D.C. Department of Corrections. The bill is co-sponsored by Councilmembers Anita Bonds (D- At-Large), Charles Allen (D- Ward 6), Janeese Lewis George (D- Ward 4), Kenyan McDuffie (I- At-Large), Robert Henderson (D- At-Large), Zachary Parker (D- Ward 5) and Christina Henderson (I- At-Large).
Informed by the local Unlock The Box movement to end solitary confinement, the ERASE Solitary Confinement Act of 2023 would ban this form of torture for any reason, including as a long-term suicide prevention measure, for discipline, the separation of transgender and other vulnerable residents, administrative segregation, and restrictive housing. The only exceptions are for short-term suicide prevention and medical isolation to contain the spread of contagious disease, and neither of these forms of isolation can include any punitive measures. The Act would also require the District to find alternatives to prolonged confinement that are based on a public health model, as other jurisdictions have done.
For more information on the bill and the coalition, visit https://erasesolitary.com/.