Author: Breeze Richardson (on behalf of the Peace Resources Committee)

There is now a petition circulating regarding the inhumane use of solitary confinement in a Super Maximum Security prison in Tamms, a small town in Southern Illinois. The petition supports proposed state legislation, HB 2633, which calls for guidelines for the use of solitary confinement and has been endorsed by AFSC-Chicago and AFSC -Michigan (Criminal Justice Program) along with 26+ other  organizations.  Blue River Quarterly Meeting has encouraged other individuals and Meetings to endorse this as well.

The petition reads as follows:

At Tamms supermax prison over 250 men are being held in permanent solitary confinement, year after year, with no communal activity or human contact of any kind. The Department of Corrections has refused to consider policies of due process safeguards. This form of extreme punishment is beyond the bounds of basic human decency.

We ask that you support HB 2633 to bring this prison back in line with its original intent. This legislation will prohibit seriously mentally ill prisoners from supermax incarceration, establish clear procedures for how men are transferred to one-year, unless doing so would pose a risk to guards or other inmates.

There will be a prayer vigil held today, April 10th, at the prison to call attention to the inhumane treatment of prisoners at Tamms.  Organizers will also be calling attention to the fact that Illinois still has a Death Penalty, and that currently there are individuals sitting on IL’s Death Row. New Mexico just abolished the Death Penalty, it is the hope of many to see Illinois be next to do so.