“I paid my debt to society. I paid my restitution. I stayed out of trouble. Why is my criminal history always going to be at the forefront of who I am? It doesn’t define who I am anymore. To be brutally honest that bothers me, and hurts me, and worries me, but I can’t crumble.
A significant number of cities in the United States reported an increase in homicide rates in 2015—a disturbing trend that some have claimed marks the end of a period that saw historic reductions in violent crimes in places like New York City and Chicago.
In some ways, the races seemed like any other 5K competitions that take place every weekend across the country. The runners laced up their shoes and stretched in preparation for the run, affixing their bib numbers and hoping for fast times.
In 1994, Congress passed a crime bill that strengthened penalties for drug offenses and earmarked billions of dollars for new prison construction. Prison populations across the country boomed as a result, with recidivism rates remaining high. Drug offenses became the leading reason for incarceration, but prisons nationwide struggled to provide programming capable of breaking the cycle of incarceration, release, and rearrest.
At his graduation from the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary in Springfield, Missouri, John Alarid stood out from his fellow classmates. It wasn’t his height or demeanor that separated him, nor was it something pithy and entertaining written in tape on his graduation cap.
When a mom or dad is sentenced to time behind bars, the intent is to punish that person for criminal behavior, and, hopefully, to deter them from future crimes. What is too often forgotten is that while they might go to prison alone, incarcerated parents aren’t the only ones that pay the price for their past behavior.
What is the best way to keep young people in troubled areas away from criminal behavior? A new book suggests that one of the keys is identifying a hobby or activity that will draw attention away from illicit activity and give youth a meaning and purpose that transcends their current environment.
When Danny Amos left prison, he entered a world that was exceedingly bizarre and foreign to him. Having spent five decades behind bars, Danny had never bought his own clothes, and didn’t even know his size. Something as common to most of us as the automatic doors at WalMart were the source of endless amazement to him.
Titles and labels serve an important role in modern society. It is unlikely anyone would submit to surgery to someone who didn’t respond to the title “doctor,” and few of us would let anyone touch our finances if they didn’t have the initials “C.P.A.”
It is becoming harder and harder for who have never had a criminal record to think that they can isolate themselves from those that have. Even if there might have been a time when crime was restricted to certain neighborhoods or classes, the growing conviction and incarceration rates makes it increasingly rarer that an individual would not be in contact with a friend, a neighbor, or a family member who has a criminal past.
For many of us, some of our earliest memories involve sitting on the couch and listening to mom read us stories about fanciful characters and faraway places. We remember those moments dearly, often holding onto those books and eventually reading them to our own children.
All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players: They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts.
William Shakespeare, As You Like It, Act II, Scene VII
At first glance, it might be hard to envision any kind of connection between performances of William Shakespeare’s plays and life in prison.
In 1952, Congress set aside the first Thursday in March as a National Day of Prayer, calling for people of all faiths to pray for our nation. The theme for the 2016 National Day of Prayer on May 5 is “Wake Up America,” and is based on Isaiah 58:1.
Based just outside of Washington, D.C., in Alexandria, Virginia, Together We Bake is more than a typical bakery.
In addition to producing granola, cookies, and other baked goods for grocery stores and restaurants in the metro D.C. area, Together We Bake creates something much more lasting—second chances for women, many of whom are attempting to reenter the workforce after a period of incarceration.
Prison Fellowship Director of Community Engagement Jesse Wiese and former Minnesota Governor Al Quie recently penned an editorial for the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, highlighting the challenges that hundreds of thousands of men and women face nationwide when they return to their communities from prison.
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