For Prison Fellowship Vice President of Advocacy and Public Policy Craig DeRoche, justice reform is more than a job, it’s a passion developed from personal experience.
At the age of 34, DeRoche was elected Speaker of the House in the Michigan State Legislature—the youngest person to ever hold that position.
When Dr. James Gilligan started work as a prison psychiatrist in a medium-security facility in Massachusetts, he took with him a pre-formed perspective on the men he would be treating.
“I had been taught up to that point that violent criminals were untreatable sociopaths, that they would manipulate you,” he remembers.
When applicants to one of the State University of New York’s (SUNY) 64 campuses apply for admission, they are required to answer question 20a: “Have you ever been convicted of a felony?” The question has proven to be a major hurdle for men and women with criminal records, with three of five of such applicants dropping out of the application process before reaching its conclusion.
Anthony “Spice” Adams has experienced things that are the stuff of dreams for many. For nine seasons, he terrorized offenses in the National Football League as a defensive tackle the San Francisco 49ers and the Chicago Bears. After announcing his retirement (in a self-effacing, humorous YouTube video that has been viewed well over a million times), he started a second career as a television host in Chicago, covering his former team.
The Book of Philemon is too often overlooked when reading through the New Testament. A mere 25 verses long, the short letter by the Apostle Paul to a wealthy leader of the Church in Colossae is easy to flip past when searching for Hebrews, James, or Revelation.
“As a country we are really good at punishment.” So says Danielle Sared, director of the Common Justice program at the Vera Institute of Justice. “It’s passive, it doesn’t require people to act or think. It certainly doesn’t require them to change.
Zane Tankel knows what it means to have a second chance.
The now-75 year old remembers growing up in a tough neighborhood in Patterson, New Jersey. A self-described “tough guy,” Tankel regularly skipped school, learning to fight, steal, and intimidate. “I went away for a little while as a kid,” he admits.
Andre Lyons is a popular man at the Correctional Treatment Facility in Washington, DC. Once a month (or occasionally more frequently, if needed to calm rising tensions), Lyons enters the confinement unit, clippers in hand, to provide haircuts for the men in “the hole.”
For moms and dads behind bars, Christmas can be a particularly difficult time of the year. Separated from their sons and daughters, these parents struggle to connect with their children—to let them know that they care for them and remember them, even when distance and iron bars keep them apart for the holidays.
One of the consequences of over two decades of “tough on crime” legislation has been the steady increase in elderly residents in our nation’s jails and prisons. A 2015 Human Rights Watch report notes that the number of prisoners above the age of 55 has increased threefold in less than a decade, and that many of those men and women will remain incarcerated well into their 70s and 80s—if they leave prison at all.
Every year, the Willow Creek Association broadcasts its Global Leadership Summit to audiences across North America, encouraging and equipping participants to become better employers, instructors, and leaders.
Prisoners at the Muskegon Correctional Facility participate in the 2016 Global Leadership Summit.
Included with the hundreds of churches and organizations who hosted the 2016 simulcast were 43 prisons, where attendees were given the tools and support needed to become effective leaders in prison and, for those who are preparing to leave prison, productive members of their communities.
Most people know John Legend as a 10-time Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter with a smooth, soulful delivery of R&B ballads with thoughtful lyrics and a timeless sound. But for men and women who are trapped in a cycle of crime and incarceration, Legend is more than just a musician—he is an advocate, supporter, and ally in working for change in the criminal justice system.
For youth in Virginia’s juvenile justice system, incarceration has too often meant being held in large, overcrowded facilities far away from their families and support networks. This approach has led to high recidivism rates in the state, and a lack of hope for those stuck in a cycle of crime.
What is the appropriate Christian response to the challenges facing the criminal justice system in the United States? While many Christians know the biblical mandates to “seek justice” and to “remember those in prison,” they are often unsure how to live out those values in real and tangible ways.
Ronal Sherpas identifies himself as a conservative, law-and-order type. The current professor of criminology at Loyola University in New Orleans previously served as police chief in both Nashville and New Orleans, and has spent over 34 years in law enforcement.
But when it comes to creating an effective strategy to reduce crime, Sherpas’ approach to reducing crime might not be what most people would imagine from a “tough on crime” career police officer.