I hope your Christmas was joyful, and that your new year will be fruitful. So many exciting things are happening in restorative justice that it was difficult to choose which items to feature in this week’s Justice eReport.
Governor Jeb Bush opened a Florida prison entirely dedicated to faith-based programming. The Florida prison offers programming to inmates of all of the major faiths. This is a different model than Prison Fellowship’s InnerChange Freedom Initiative, which is an explicitly Christian program, although both IFI and Florida’s programs are open to inmates of all faiths.
The secularists raised the usual objections to the Florida prison immediately. I find that puzzling. Why would anyone object to allowing inmates to make a choice, freely made, to reform their lives based on a relationship with God? Isn’t that as good a use of taxpayers’ money than the traditional treatment modalities based on secular humanism? Fortunately, no court has agreed with such complaints to religious programs. Across the country more and more inmates are reforming their hearts and minds through Christian programs.
Mandatory Minimum sentences continue to generate controversy, with Chief Justice Rehnquist, 60 Minutes and the West Wing criticizing the impact of “one-size-fits-all” sentences. Such laws often result in long prison terms for people we’re merely mad at, while giving people we’re afraid of much shorter sentences. You can read more about this issue on our Mandatory Minimum Sentences Resource Page.
This edition of the Justice eReport contains several articles about California’s corrections system. While these stories report on the prison system of only one state, they offer insight into the reforms that may be on the way in other states. California has often led the rest of the country in changes to their government. They helped fuel the prison population explosion with their “three strikes” law and the largest prison construction boom in human history. Now, there are signs that major prison reforms are in the wind.
When Governor Schwarzenegger was elected without financial support from the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, he was the first governor in over 20 years that was not under obligation to that union. There are many indications that the new governor will be making substantial changes to that troubled system. His appointment of Roderick Hickman, a veteran of the department respected by line officers as well as families of inmates, is widely viewed as a major step toward reform. Justice Fellowship will be working with many of California’s leaders to assist them in making the justice system focus on healing victims, reforming the hearts of offenders and restoring peace to troubled communities.
This coming April 18-24 has been designated Crime Victims’ Week. The Office of Victims of Crime has developed a great Resource Guide that includes a sample speech and proclamation, tips for community awareness and public education and much more. I hope you will join with us to call attention to the needs of the innocent victims of crime.
In His service,
Pat Nolan, President
Justice Fellowship
Victims
Criminals Owe Debt to Victims, Not Society
Most people realize that the court and penal systems in North America are seriously broken and must be fixed. With the possible exception of China, the United States currently imprisons more of its population than any other nation. (FOXNews, December 30, 2003)
The Good Samaritan: Model of Effective Compassion
The Good Samaritan is a model of effective compassion because he engages the fallen man as a person; he treats him as his “neighbor.” This can at times be “inconvenient,” and it is rarely simple, but there is no other way to make compassion effective than to follow Christ’s command to “Go and do likewise.” (The Acton Institute, December 31, 2003)
Justice Department Materials for Crime Victims’ Week
April 18-24 has been designated Crime Victims Week. The Office of Victims of Crime in the Department of Justice has developed a resource guide that includes a sample speech and proclamation, tips for community awareness and public education and much more.
Offenders
More articles on California’s dysfunctional corrections system:
Critics Say New State Prison Defies Logic (San Francisco Chronicle, January 5, 2004)
California Jail Break (The Wall Street Journal, December 28, 2003)
Prison Church Forms Amid Hostility
In the past four to five months, powerful days have become commonplace in the prison as this small flock has made an almost complete transition to Saddleback's Purpose-Driven Church model of ministry. (Baptist Press, January 2, 2004)
Community
The Intersection of Troubled People and Armed Police
A New York lawsuit questions one of the most challenging and dangerous parts of police work, a situation in which an officer must decide in a matter of seconds whether to shoot, whether the deranged man with [weapon] is a threat to the officer, the officer's partner, others or himself. It is a decision made again and again, because the department deals with a disturbed person roughly every six and a half minutes. (New York Times, December 29, 2003) |
