Prison Fellowship

  • DONATE
    • One-Time
    • Monthly
    • Angel Tree
    • Other Ways to Give
  • GET INVOLVED
    • All Options
    • Subscribe
    • Angel Tree Christmas
    • Start a Fundraiser
    • Pray With Us
    • Justice Action Center
    • Share on Social
Search
  • STORIES
    • Stories
    • Blog
    • Videos
    • The Restoration Series [Videos]
  • WHAT WE DO
    • Why Help Prisoners?
    • What We Do
    • In-Prison
      • Prison Fellowship Academy
      • In-Prison Programs
      • Hope Events
      • Inside Journal
      • Women’s Ministry
      • Create: New Beginnings
    • Angel Tree
      • Register your church or group for Angel Tree
      • Prison Fellowship Angel Tree
      • Angel Tree Christmas
      • Angel Tree Camping
      • Angel Tree Sports Camp
    • Justice Reform
      • Justice Reform
      • Second Chance Month
      • News & Updates
      • Sign the Justice Declaration
      • Get a Copy of Outrageous Justice
    • Warden Exchange
    • Church Partners
    • Corporate Partnerships
    • Preparing Prisoners for Reentry
    • Research and Evaluation
      • Good Citizenship Model®
  • RESOURCES
    • Subscribe to Our Email
    • Support for Friends and Family of Prisoners
      • Resources for Friends and Family of Prisoners
      • Coping with Incarceration
      • Resources for Prisoners
      • Resources for Children of Prisoners
      • Supporting Successful Prisoner Reentry
      • Subscribe To The Hope Connection
    • Resources for Churches and Volunteers
      • Resources for Churches and Volunteers
      • In-Prison Ministry
      • Reentry Ministry
      • Family Ministry
      • Justice Reform
      • Mentoring Ministry
    • Angel Tree Coordinator Training
    • Resources for Chaplains
    • Resources for D.O.C.
    • Justice Reform Resources
    • Create: New Beginnings Book
    • Share on Social
  • ABOUT US
    • Our Beliefs
    • Mission & Vision
    • Financials
      • Financials
      • 2024 Annual Report
    • Employment
    • Contact Us
    • In The News
    • Leadership
    • Chuck Colson
      • About Chuck Colson
      • The Charles Colson Hope Awards

Tempering Justice with Mercy

September 24, 2015 by Steve Rempe

Stephanos Bibas, a professor of law and criminology at the University of Pennsylvania, has written a thoughtful piece in National Review on the state of incarceration in the United States.  Challenging presumptions of both left and right, Bibas argues that an effective system of corrections is one that holds people responsible for their behavior, but also seeks to forgive and restore those who have served their sentences.

Beginning with a litany of facts—the United States has the highest incarceration rates in the world; the country has a quarter of the world's prisoners, despite having less than one-twentieth of the world's population; the prison population has increased by a factor of seven since the mid-1970s—the author examines the reasons for the pronounced spike in imprisonment.  He questions the popular liberal narrative that increased incarceration is, as Ohio State law professor Michelle Alexander describes it, "A comprehensive and well-disguised system of  radicalized social control that functions in a manner strikingly similar to Jim Crow."  Bibas asserts that the main impetus for prison growth since the 1980s has been violent crimes and crimes against property, not non-violent drug offenses that have disproportionately affected black males.  He also argues that to cast the entire system as premeditated racism fails to acknowledge the actual behavior that has in most cases led to incarceration in the first place.

But while liberal commentators have misrepresented what has led to the current state of mass imprisonment, Bibas claims conservative pundits have erred in supporting the status quo, and have done damage to families and communities while adopting a "lock them up and throw away the key" mentality.  The shift from short corporal punishment (followed by some form of restitution), to a warehousing approach that results in a "permanent underclass of ex-cons," has had a profound impact on society.  Bilbas says:

... Now we warehouse large numbers of criminals, in idleness and at great expense. By exiling them, often far away, prison severs them from their responsibilities to their families and communities, not to mention separating them from opportunities for gainful work. This approach is hugely disruptive, especially when it passes a tipping point in some communities and exacerbates the number of fatherless families. And much of the burden falls on innocent women and children, who lose a husband, boyfriend, or father as well as a breadwinner.

And the punishment does not end at the prison gate.  Men and women who have served a sentence for a felony offense return with no job, a lack of any real earning potential, and legal disqualification for some employment, housing, and student loans.  Citing a study by University of Michigan economics professor Michael Mueller-Smith,  Bilbas says that a year of incarceration reduces the odds of employment by 24 percent, while increasing the odds of reliance on governmental assistance like food stamps.

The belief that the threat of imprisonment serves as a deterrent to criminal behavior is overblown, Bilbas says, because it fails to understand that most crimes are not entered into with with great foresight.  "At its root," he says, "crime is generally a failure of self-discipline. ... [Criminals] are short-sighted gamblers; who else would risk getting shot or arrested in order to steal $300 and a six-pack of beer from a convenience store?"

Bilbas asserts that religion and religious communities are vital to the transformation of prisoner to citizen.  "[F]aith-based programs like Prison Fellowship Ministries can transform cell blocks from wards of idleness or violence to orderly places of prayer, repentance, education, and work. After inmates are released, these faith-based groups can also perform much of the oversight, community reintegration, fellowship, and prayer that returning inmates need."

A successful justice system, Bilbas says, is one that "reweaves" the fabric of criminals' families and communities.  "The more that punishment exacerbates the breakdown of families and communities," he says, "the more overweening state and its social services and law enforcement grow to fill the resulting void."

"American criminal justice has drifted away from its moral roots," Bilbas concludes.  "The Left has forgotten how to blame and punish, and too often the Right has forgotten how to forgive. ... Criminals deserve punishment, but it is wise as well as humane to temper justice with mercy."

Such a an approach of justice tempered by mercy is at the root of Prison Fellowship's efforts to transform lives affected by crime.  Through our Justice Fellowship program, Prison Fellowship seeks to renew a system that too often punishes with little eye toward restoration.  And with the help of many churches and volunteers across the country, Prison Fellowship works to transform and restore men and women behind bars to their families and their communities.  To learn more about how you can be a part of promoting a just and merciful corrections system, visit our Get Involved page.

DID YOU ENJOY THIS ARTICLE?

Make sure you don' t miss out on any of our helpful articles and incredible transformation stories! Sign up to receive our weekly newsletter, and you' ll get great content delivered directly to your inbox.

Your privacy is safe with us. We will never sell, trade, or share your personal information.

Filed Under: Prison Fellowship News & Updates Tagged With: incarceration, National Review, Stephanos Bibas

SELECT A TOPIC

  • Advocacy & Reentry
  • Angel Tree
  • Families of Prisoners
  • Feature Stories
  • From the CEO
  • Hope Events
  • Inside Journal
  • Press Releases
  • Prison & Prisoners
  • Prison Fellowship Academy
  • Prison Fellowship International
  • Prison Fellowship News & Updates
  • Reentry
  • Second Chance Month
  • Uncategorized
  • Video
  • Warden Exchange

MOST POPULAR

The Secret to Staying in the Fight

May 28, 2025

Update: Helen Graduates From the Academy!

May 14, 2025

My Story: Tina

May 7, 2025

LATEST VIDEOS

WATCH ALL VIDEOS

Join our online community

Facebook Facebook X (Twitter) X (Twitter) Instagram Instagram YouTube YouTube LinkedIn LinkedIn
PF®
PFM®

RECOMMENDED LINKS

  • Ways to Donate
  • Inspirational Stories
  • Angel Tree
  • Prison Fellowship Academy
  • Justice Reform

RESOURCES

  • For Families & Friends of Prisoners
  • For Churches & Angel Tree Volunteers
  • Warden Exchange

JOIN RESTORATION PARTNERS AND WITNESS GOD RESTORE LIVES

Restoration Partners give monthly to bring life-changing prison ministry programs to incarcerated men and women across the country.

 

JOIN NOW
  • CONTACT US
  • EMPLOYMENT
  • PRIVACY
  • FINANCIALS
© 2025 PRISON FELLOWSHIP®

Angel Tree®, Angel Tree Camping®, Angel Tree Sports CampTM, and Warden Exchange® are programs of Prison Fellowship®.