The national debate over whether some prisoners should be locked up by themselves heated up this week. A Senate subcommittee held a hearing on the practice, and New York became the largest state to curb the use of solitary confinement, particularly for minors, disabled individuals, and pregnant women. Meanwhile, a growing faith-based movement is mobilizing against solitary confinement. At an event on Capitol Hill, a broad range of religious leaders joined former prisoners to speak out against the practice. Many called it inhumane and said it violates the teachings of their faiths:

RABBI RACHEL GARTNER, T’ruah: “Our values call us to work for restoration and restorative justice and we see that the use of isolation for adults and youth in our prisons is a profound violation of their inherent dignity and worth.”