Putting faith behind bars

The U.S. level of incarceration is the highest in the world and the

re-arrest rate for released prisoners is also astronomical.

Deterrence does not keep people from committing crimes that send

them to prison. Punishment does not keep people from committing

crimes after they leave prison. Perhaps faith and spirituality can

make an impact. After all, the source of our greatest strength as

individuals is an attachment to a higher power and a commitment to

our higher nature.

While the Constitution seeks to prevent government-sponsored

coercion, it does not require government to be hostile to religion,

nor does it mean that the government should refuse to recognize the

significant contributions of religion to our commonweal. One such

area can be located in bringing the values of religious faith to

those whose lack of such values permitted them to commit crimes.

There are many stories about the change of heart engendered in

convicts who have embraced the healing and strengthening power of

faith. A change of heart, of course, is what is needed since those

released from prison may face bleak circumstances and few

opportunities. Since the surrounding conditions may be resistant to

improvement, a change of heart in the way the person responds to

those circumstances may make all the difference.

The goal of society in terms of criminal justice is the prevention

of recidivism. For those whose bodies are incarcerated, the soul may

be receptive to embracing a new understanding of right and wrong, of

free will and personal responsibility, of commitment to a better

life, of mercy, compassion and restitution. The words of Psalm 142

may be fulfilled for them: “Bring my soul out of prison, that I may

praise Your name.” By accepting the First Commandment, they may be

led to never again violate the Sixth, Eighth and 10th.

RABBI MARK MILLER

Temple Bat Yahm

Newport Beach

With few programs currently available for rehabilitation, it is

hard not to support alternatives for prisoners, especially if they

may freely choose whether to participate.

I know from experience that faith-based programs provided by

volunteers at publicly funded prisons are worthwhile. The Zen Center

of Orange County offered Zen and meditation programs at a

penitentiary for three years. Many men, including those serving life

sentences, eagerly welcomed resources for healing and growth. For

those unlikely ever to be released, a spiritual path offered a means

of living fully under any conditions, and facing a future holding

only more years of prison. For those who would be released, programs

on anger management, impulse control and addiction were well attended

by men desperate to find the key to avoid return to prison. Yet

lockdowns, lack of meeting rooms, staff shortages and various

scheduling problems seriously interfered with the volunteer program.

In India, the former inspector of prisons introduced meditation

training, retreats and residential programs at India’s largest

prison. The amazing transformation of inmates is documented in a 1997

film, “Doing Time, Doing Vipassana.” Due to security concerns, it can

be impossible to have meditation cushions, retreat days, a somewhat

quiet spot or meaningful support in offering this kind of program.

Our group sat on folded army blankets and we considered ourselves

lucky to have them. Whether from the public, as in India, or from

private sources, programs offering opportunities for faith-based

transformation should be supported.

I would hope that faith-based prisons would reflect the religious

diversity of our culture, and that a broad range of choices would

exist. Nonetheless, I think it is an illusion to believe that private

volunteer groups can fill a job of this magnitude, and one that is

our public responsibility. It is hard to imagine how prisoners will

change their lives in prisons if there is not adequate funding for

ongoing therapy, treatment for addictions of all kinds and a decent

chance at rehabilitation--for the good of men and women in prison and

for the good of us all.

THE REV. DEBORAH BARRETT

Zen Center of Orange County

Costa Mesa

Without faith that one’s present reality is not God’s last word

for us, how can human beings live creatively through the inevitable

difficult times in life?

Every life has both dark “Good Fridays” and joyous “Easter

(Sun)Days;” understanding that light will return during dark times

and that we must be grateful for joyous times because there will be

other-than-happy ones provides a healthy perspective for living well.

There are ample stories of people of faith living creatively while in

prison, those of New Testament apostles like Paul and contemporary

prophets like Martin Luther King, Jr. being the first to come to my

mind.

“Faith is the assurance of things hoped for” (Hebrews 11:1) and

prison is a less-than-joyous place to life. So, combining faith and

imprisonment is not only natural and useful, but essential. This

week’s question raises political church-state concerns with

significant financial issues and economic ramifications. Californians

will be wise to learn more about Tampa’s privatizations. Ten-thousand

responses to a recent 70th California Assembly District Legislative

Survey showed that 65% supported privatization of our county jail

(81% supported privatization of waste management; another 81%

supported extending the ban on assault weapons). It seems to me that

our economic concerns and financial realities might favor faith-based

prisons financed with volunteers’ money. I think we will see such

“combos” beyond Florida, but will not hold my breath until we have

similar institutions in our golden state.

THE VERY REV. CANON PETER D. HAYNES

St. Michael & All Angels

Episcopal Parish Church

Corona del Mar

It would be very interesting and important to follow the

developments of the program. America is full of prisoners and our

judicial system has not had success in preventing or rehabilitating

criminals. Crime and murder in our nation is on the rise. Statistics

indicate that released prisoners often return to prison within a few

years. Something radical needs to be done.

Since public money is not being used, the issue of these

institutions being religiously funded is not really of concern. The

concern should be on who is watching and rehabilitating the

prisoners, and are these prisoners just petty-theft offenders or

hard-core inmates? Also, are the facilities secured?

If they are staffed (or volunteered) by professionals in the field

and can ensure the safety of the public, then they should be allotted

the opportunity to build a better human being, under the watchful eye

of the government.

IMAM MOUSTAFA AL-QAZWINI

Islamic Educational Center

of Orange County

Costa Mesa

I find the idea of a private prison very strange. I am against and

uncomfortable with people profiting from running a prison, as I know

some of them are run as businesses. On the other hand, if they are

run as a nonprofit, by definition the rehabilitation of the inmate

would take precedence over profit. The normal system doesn’t seem to

be working, so it will be interesting to see if these new prisons can

make a difference.

The setup does not seem to be natural from a government

perspective, but from a Christ-followers perspective it is very

natural. Jesus compared the compassion given to a prisoner as being

equal to having compassion on himself. He also claimed that he was

the fulfillment of the Jewish prophet Isaiah’s prediction that

prisoners would find freedom in the Messiah. These direct and many

other indirect references lay a mandate for compassion that is

carried out in various contemporary ways as Chuck Colson’s Prison

Fellowship, M-2 Prisoner Mentoring, and the wide variety of prison

chaplain and counseling programs run by various congregations across

the nation.

I personally served in the chaplain ministry at Cook County Jail

in Chicago. Granted, many prisoners use their “jailhouse conversion”

as a means of early release or probation, but others are genuinely

set free from the addictions and behaviors that put them there in the

first place.

Our society would greatly benefit if people would remember the

prisoners and volunteer to reach out to them. Their rehabilitation is

key to the peace and safety we all desire.

SENIOR ASSOCIATE PASTOR RIC OLSEN

Harbor Trinity Church

Costa Mesa