When seeking to improve the effectiveness of our current prison systems here in the United States, it is important to recognize the humanity of those behind bars. So says Prison Fellowship President and CEO Jim Liske in a recent op-ed article for the Huffington Post.
When Gus (a pseudonym) went to prison, Ronald Reagan was president. New episodes of M.A.S.H. were still airing, and Steve Jobs was getting ready to launch the Macintosh personal computer.
But Gus is getting out soon. Understandably, he’s feeling a mixture of fear and elation sometimes known as “gate fever.”
Prison Fellowship works to bring good people back to their communities through restorative programming and dedicated volunteers. In the next three years, Prison Fellowship hopes to position itself in the top 50 urban centers for reentry. Through the development of local reentry networks and local church participation, we can see even more prisoners supported in a successful reentry process, and these former prisoners can go on to help others.
In recent years, California’s prisons have seen intense overcrowding — to the point that federal judges ruled the quality of life in violation of prisoners’ civil rights.
In 2011, Governor Brown introduced a reduction plan that included moving prisoners with nonviolent charges to county jails and probation centers.
Preschoolers AJ and Butchie witnessed a harrowing scene in the courtroom; if it had ended there, these two little boys would have faced a future without hope or promise. But Angel Tree supporters helped rescue them and turn their hearts to their parents.
Michael Bellotti went to prison at the age of 24 for drug charges, but he didn't let his 12-year sentence go to waste.
Tom Douglas is a legendary country music songwriter who was recently inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. His musical collaborators include country music stars like Miranda Lambert, John Michael Montgomery, Martina McBride, Tim McGraw, Collin Raye, and Lady Antebellum.
Marlon is a living testament to second chances.
The following post originally appeared on the Justice Fellowship website.
With the amount of talk about recidivism, there is very little focus on people who do not commit another offense after their release. It is assumed that everyone who committed an offense poses a high threat of committing another one.
Francis Chan, a nationally known author, speaker, and pastor, volunteered to speak at a Prison Fellowship yard event this past Easter weekend.
On Friday, June 13, auto mechanic Bryant Collins was driving down Highway 72 in Georgia when he saw something peculiar on the side of the road.
“I had seen something out of the corner of my eye, and I thought it was a baby,” Collins recounted.
Through Prison Fellowship’s faith-based life-skills classes and reentry programs, God’s people have an open door to share the hope and freedom of Christ with hundreds of thousands of prisoners. As Prison Fellowship ends the fiscal year, will you help us reach incarcerated men and women through a fiscal year-end gift? To give a gift that will prepare prisoners for success on the outside, please visit, www.prisonfellowship.org.
In Larry’s state, a study showed that more than four out of five prisoners who successfully completed one of Prison Fellowship’s intensive reentry programs haven’t returned to prison since release.
At Prison Fellowship, we see many prisoners transformed into new people with changed hearts because they've met Jesus. And when these prisoners are released into society and faced with the temptations of the free world, their new faith is often what helps them resist returning to their former way of life.