When evaluating the faults and shortcomings of our own organizations, systems, and institutions here in the United States, sometimes it helps to hear from voices outside our borders. A new set of eyes can help us to see our own problems in a different light, and facts and figures that have become “part of the furniture” take on new importance when we see how others respond to them after hearing them for the first time.
QI, a popular BBC quiz show, recently touched on the subject of incarceration in the United States. Moderator Stephen Fry (probably best-known to American audiences as Jeeves on the PBS television series Jeeves and Wooster) brought up several statistics about American prisons – most notably that one in every 100 U.S. males are currently behind bars. The panelists – comedians all – joked about the situation, but appeared to be genuinelly apalled by the sheer numbers of incarcerations.
While Prison Fellowship does not necessarily endorse all of the opinions or comments made on the show, we do share the concerns about the number of prisoners, and the effectiveness of the current system in comparison to other alternatives of rehabilitation.
Justice Fellowship seeks to reform the current justice system, applying the principles of restorative justice in an attempt to make the system more efficient, as well as more effective. To learn more about the work of Justice Fellowship, please visit their website at www.justicefellowship.org.