SB1301, legislation that will end the practice of placing individuals in isolated confinement/restrictive housing for extended periods of time, has already passed several hurdles: the Virginia Senate and the House Public Safety Subcommittee. Your advocacy has been critical for the success of this legislation to date. Now your help is critical for persuading the House Appropriations Committee, chaired by Delegate Luke Torian, and the Virginia House to pass this legislation.

TO SEND AN ADVOCACY LETTER IN SUPPORT OF THIS LEGISLATION, SB1301, PREPARED BY SALT, CLICK HERE.

Feel free to edit this letter and include your own comments.

To call members of the committee referenced above to register your support for the legislation, click on House Appropriations Committee for their phone numbers and other information.

SALT encourages advocates to also read the Interfaith Action for Human Rights (IAHR) sample letter in support of SB1301 and some of the main provisions of the legislation. To read letter and main provisions of the legislation click here. This is a letter providing text that can also be used for advocacy in support of SB1301.

In addition, please note that the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus supports SB 1301. 

It is critical that you not delay in sending your letter of advocacy in support of SB1301. Please do so today, if possible: CLICK HERE. The Virginia General Assembly may adjourn by the end of this week.

For additional information regarding solitary confinement and what other states have done to end the practice, click on Solitary Confinement Fact Sheet: What Other States Have Done to Address the Cost and Cruelty. Additional documentation for supporting SB1301 can be found by clicking on Paying the Price for Solitary Confinement  and The Dangerous Overuse of Solitary Confinement and  The High Cost of Solitary Confinement.

Only recently, the ACLU of Virginia, the Roderick and Solange MacArthur Justice Center, and a team of pro bono lawyers finalized a settlement agreement in Reyes v. Clarke et al., a federal case challenging the treatment by the Virginia Department of Corrections (VDOC) of a person with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) who had been held in solitary confinement for nearly 13 years at Red Onion State Prison.

Should you have any doubts about the cruelty of the practice of solitary confinement in Virginia, please read this ARTICLE IN THE RICHMOND-TIMES DISPATCH.   Another article documenting the practice of solitary confinement can be found here: A VIRGINIA PRISON HELD A MAN IN SOLITARY CONFINEMENT FOR OVER 600 DAYS. 

TO SEND AN ADVOCACY LETTER IN SUPPORT OF THIS LEGISLATION, CLICK HERE.

PLEASE DO NOT DELAY IN SENDING YOUR LETTER; THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY SESSION MAY ADJOURN BY THE END OF THIS WEEK.