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Learn about our Pen Pal Program.
DC has no prison. When DC residents are convicted of a felony, they serve their sentence in any of 122 federal prisons. Over 3,000 are incarcerated anywhere from California to New York to Florida. These DC residents, so far from home, often feel incredibly isolated.
When prisoners lose their connections to their community, they are more likely to commit crimes after their release. Our Pen Pal program is a proven way to let these prisoners know they are not forgotten.
March 26th, 2025
IAHR Responds to Youngkin's HB 2647/SB 1409 Veto
Governor Youngkin's decision to once again veto HB 2647/SB 1409 is both deeply disappointing and a blatant disregard for the lived experiences of incarcerated Virginians and their families. As we read his response, we are appalled that even the recent crisis at Red Onion State Prison was not enough to prove that so-called "restorative housing" is nothing more than torture.
The governor claims to prioritize "data-driven decision-making" and "evidence-based practices," yet those principles seem to hold no weight when it comes to the lives of incarcerated people. The reality is clear: restorative housing is solitary confinement by another name, and it continues to inflict psychological and physical harm on those subjected to it. The reference to the 2023 legislation, which has yet to be meaningfully implemented, does nothing to address the suffering taking place in Virginia's prisons today.
The accounts from incarcerated individuals and their families paint a starkly different picture from the one the governor and the Department of Corrections (VADOC) would have the public believe. These testimonies are proof of the inhumane conditions that persist under the guise of safety and order. Ignoring these voices is not just negligent—it is an active choice to uphold a system that devalues human life.
Despite this veto, Interfaith Action for Human Rights, the Virginia Coalition on Solitary Confinement, and our partners will not stop fighting to end prolonged solitary confinement in Virginia. We will continue to introduce legislation that restricts the abuse and isolation of incarcerated Virginians. We will not accept empty rhetoric that prioritizes bureaucratic convenience over basic human rights.
This is not the end. It is another reminder of why we must keep pushing forward—until all people are treated humanely.
Natasha White
Director of Community Engagement, IAHR
Kimberly Jenkins Snodgrass
Senior Policy Advisor, IAHR
Ben Austen on the Criminal Justice System
Ben Austen is a journalist from Chicago and a former editor at Harper's Magazine. Notably, he wrote "Correction: Parole, Prison, and the Possibility of Change," which The Washington Post named one of the best books of 2023.
His book, High-Risers: Cabrini-Green and the Fate of American Public Housing, was longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal of Excellence in Nonfiction. It was also named one of the best books of 2018 by Booklist, Mother Jones, and the Chicago and St. Louis public libraries. He teaches in the Creative Writing Program at the University of Chicago.
IAHR Interview with
Ben Austin
Voices from Virginia's Prisons Show the Need for a Robust, Independent Oversight of State Prisons
Drawing from correspondence with more than 600 individuals incarcerated in Virginia prisons, Interfaith Action for Human Rights (IAHR) has released a report (the “Red Report”) calling for significant staffing and authority for independent oversight of the operations of the Virginia prison system. The report summarizes 156 stories divided into 16 different categories of abuse ranging from alleged assaults by prison staff to inadequate health care to ineffective and unreliable redress mechanisms.
Read the full report.
Torture in Our Name
The National Religious Campaign Against Torture has produced the film, Torture in Our Name, that we encourage you to watch. In this documentary, filmmaker Matthew Gossage shows the tenacity and resilience of people who have faced the torture of solitary confinement and are working to end it once and for all.