At a recent staff briefing on Capitol Hill sponsored by Justice Fellowship and Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM), religious leaders and representatives from various faith traditions gathered to discuss how Christians should regard issues of crime, punishment, and incarceration.
Despite the differences in theologies and practices, there were a great number of points on which the participants could agree. Panelists representing the National Association of Evangelicals, the Southern Baptist Convention, and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops all agreed that prison sentences should be proportionate to the crime committed, and that a proper punishment would include restoration for offenders, victims, and communities. They also agreed that mandatory minimum sentences often have the effect of creating sentences not commensurate with the crime committed.
“When we see prisoners as fellow human beings made in God’s image, we can no longer just lock them up and throw away the key,” said Galen Carey, vice president of the National Association of Evangelicals. Carey’s suggested expanding alternatives to incarceration for non-violent offenders, placing an emphasis on rehabilitiation for those in prison, and allowing Christian volunteers greater access to the prison population as ways to make punishments more appropriate for the crimes committed, as well as lessening the burden on overcrowded prison systems.
On the Huffington Post website, Justice Fellowship Vice President Craig DeRoche and Molly M. Gill of Families Against Mandatory Minimums talk about the importance of legislative efforts to make sentencing more fair and more effective. “Christians … want to vote for lawmakers who share their belief in mercy, second chances, and redemption, even for the worst among us,” they say. “… In understanding this and supporting better options, Christians are steps ahead of most on Capitol Hill. It’s time for Congress to catch up.”
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