The Acts of Convention

House of Deputies

The House of Deputies Committee on Social Justice and United States Policy presented its Report #32 on Resolution D032 (Disability Advocacy in Criminal Justice Work of The Episcopal Church) and moved adoption.

Original Text of Resolution:

(D032)

Resolved, the House of Bishops concurring, That The Episcopal Church reaffirm and renew the Church’s commitment to people with disabilities in society, and recognize mission and leadership of the Episcopal Disability Network in helping to challenge and guide our Church’s work in this area; and be it further

Resolved, That The Episcopal Church affirm our Church’s many ministries with those who are suspects, defendants, incarcerated, or otherwise involved with the criminal justice system, following the call of Jesus to attend to those who are in prison as if they are Christ himself; and be it further

Resolved, That The Episcopal Church recognize and acknowledge that roughly half of adult criminal defendants in the United States have a physical, mental, learning, or other disability and two-thirds of juvenile defendants have a disability qualifying them for special education services and instruction; and that we further acknowledge persistent race-based disparities in the treatment of people with mental health conditions in our criminal justice system, and that in particular Black people with mental health conditions are more likely to be incarcerated than people of other races with similar conditions; and be it further

Resolved, That The Episcopal Church recognize that people with disabilities are often denied significant civil rights and even the liberty of life through encounters with law enforcement officials and throughout the criminal justice system, and that many are denied proper treatment and accommodations while in the system; and be it further

Resolved, That The Episcopal Church condemn unreasonable use of force by law enforcement against people with disabilities and urge law enforcement officials to consider the possibility of disability when engaging with criminal suspects, and urge law enforcement leaders to provide extensive training to frontline officers on how to identify and engage effectively with people with disabilities; and be it further

Resolved, That The Episcopal Church advocate for the civil rights and proper treatment of and accommodations for people with disabilities throughout the criminal justice system and ask the Episcopal Public Policy Network to help the Church advocate on this issue; and be it further

Resolved, That The Episcopal Church recognize that all who minister in the criminal justice system, whether with law enforcement officials, defendants, or prisoners, need to understand disability issues in order to do their work effectively; and therefore urge all in the Church who are involved with these ministries to seek training and education on mental and physical disabilities and the legal rights of people with disabilities, by partnering with disability organizations and networks in our communities that provide this training; and be it further

Resolved, That the Joint Standing Committee on Program, Budget and Finance consider a budget of $25,000 to support the work of an ad-hoc triennial committee consisting of leaders active in disability rights, racial justice, prison ministries, and criminal justice advocacy from around the Church to discuss these disparities in the criminal justice system and to develop a blueprint for best practices, resources for training, advocacy, and future networking to provide support our Church’s work in the area of criminal justice, and to report to the 79th General Convention of the Episcopal Church on its work and with recommendations for future steps.

Motion carried

Resolution adopted

(Communicated to the House of Bishops in HD Message #201)