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Angola Prison: The name conjures up dark images of unspeakable brutality and misery depicted in the film The Farm. It is a place that confines men whom the press calls "the worst of the worst"-the inmates too tough for most prisons to hold. It is the largest maximum-security prison in the United States. About 98 percent of the men imprisoned in Angola will die there. Some will be executed; the rest will simply pass on of disease or old age while serving out their sentences. It seems a fitting place for the motto, "Abandon hope all ye who enter here." Yet when I recently visited Angola Prison, hopelessness was not what I found. The men I talked with were quite upbeat and hopeful despite their long sentences. They told me that Angola is now the most peaceful prison in the United States.
How could a place that until a few years ago seethed with anger and violence, where men slept with phone books and metal plates over their chests to avoid being stabbed in their sleep, now be called the "most peaceful prison in the U.S."? How could men who will never draw a breath of air outside the confines of that prison smile and talk of hope for their future? The answer is surprising. Ashanti Witherspoon, released from Angola after twenty-seven years in custody, told me the reason in two words: "Warden Cain." Everyone else I asked told me the same thing. It is one man, Burl Cain, the warden, who has totally transformed the prison.
Mr. Cain has a ready smile and an easy manner. He seems likelier to be a pharmacist or insurance agent than a prison warden. Nevertheless, he takes his job seriously. "No one escapes from our prison here. A few try, but nobody makes it," he says. "I've got the best tracking dogs in the country, bar none." However, protecting the public doesn't mean that the men must be dehumanized. On the contrary, while the men are in Warden Cain's custody, he promises them, "Good food, good fun, good praying and good medicine." Sounds pretty much like what Jesus provided, doesn't it?
When he told us his priorities, a Prison Fellowship volunteer said to Mr. Cain, "What you are talking about is treating the men with dignity." "That's right," the warden responded. Although the men may die in his custody, while they are alive he wants them to live peaceful and productive lives. The Angola Inmate Rodeo gives the men a chance to participate in healthy competition and draws crowds from miles around. On the grounds of the prison, Warden Cain has established a culinary school and a Baptist seminary. The graduates of these courses help provide sustenance to the bodies and the souls of their fellow inmates.
The atmosphere created by Warden Cain's philosophy is truly remarkable. One thing in particular struck me as I walked from cell to cell in the disciplinary unit: The men looked me in the eyes as we spoke. That is not the way most men look at you in prisons. When I visited Death Row in Huntsville, Texas, and the solitary confinement unit at Pelican Bay, California's super-max prison, most of the men averted their eyes. They stole furtive glances, as if they were afraid to look any "free person" in the eyes. Not so in Warden Cain's prison. Here the men are under the warden's authority, but not under his domination.
There is a reason why Warden Cain is different: his faith in Jesus Christ. He openly expresses his faith, and he does it frequently. References to God are a natural part of his conversation. He applies his faith to his work and he has flavored the atmosphere around him, and brightened the lives of all those with whom he comes in contact-inmates, staff, and visitors. He is salt and light. "This is my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples" (John 15:8).
Angola didn't change by accident. Warden Cain consciously tries to act like a Christian in his work. He told Chuck Colson that he reads his books and relies on Chuck for insight into the issues of the day. That is precisely why Chuck founded Justice Fellowship and BreakPoint-to equip Christians like Burl Cain to apply their faith to their work every day. One of the joys of our work is seeing the ways Christ uses us to help faithful servants like Warden Cain change the world, one soul at a time, through the good food, good fun, good praying and good medicine that he provides to people that the rest of the world would just as soon forget.
In His service,
Pat Nolan
President, Justice Fellowship
Resources
Templeton Foundation Site Features Research on Forgiveness
Scientists working on Campaign for Forgiveness Research projects studied the way forgiveness works in individuals and among families and nations. They investigated the social and physical effects of forgiveness on persons who choose to forgive. Some projects studied how animals forgive and how their social groups function. This is fascinating and important scientific support for the powerful impact of forgiveness that all of us involved in restorative justice observe in our work.
Journal Highlights Justice Issues
Prison Fellowship International, in partnership with the International Prison Chaplains Association and the Commission for Catholic Prison Pastoral Care, is sponsoring the new journal "Justice Reflections." Beginning this month, the journal will appear three times a year and will focus on theological insights into ethical, moral, pastoral, and restorative aspects of justice. For subscription information, contact the editor at justicereflections@hotmail.com.
PFI Establishes the International Centre for Justice and Reconciliation
Prison Fellowship International (PFI) has established the International Centre for Justice and Reconciliation, a program dedicated to working to make restorative justice the typical response to crime throughout the world. Its initial staff members are Dan Van Ness, Lynette Parker, Judy Strickland, and Graeme Taylor.
The Centre will be responsible for assisting affiliates with justice programs such as APAC-based prisons and Sycamore Tree Project, as well as offering individualized assistance to affiliates addressing criminal justice issues in their countries. In addition, it will promote restorative justice measures to governments, intergovernmental bodies, other international NGOs (non-governmental organizations), and other interested parties. For example, Dan has been working for final adoption of the UN Declaration of Basic Principles on the Use of Restorative Justice in Criminal Matters.
The Centre's first initiative has been to develop a new website for members of the Justice Network. This website combines into a single location many resources that will be helpful to PFI affiliates working for reform. The site provides the following:
- A step-by-step guide to starting a justice reform effort
- Links to websites with justice statistics and research for every region
- Articles on topics of interest to PF affiliates
- Copies of submissions, reports, and proposals made to governments by PF affiliates
- An archive of Justice Network newsletters
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