Jeffrey Leonard never expected to be free from a lifelong cycle of crime and addiction. He envisioned himself going back behind the walls every time he was released. “The first thing I’d do when I left prison was buy a gun,” he confesses.
A devastating fire ripped through a Honduran prison today killing at least 300 prisoners. Here is more from the Associated Press on what they are saying is one of the world’s deadliest fires in decades:
Some 475 people escaped from the prison in the town of Comayagua and 356 are missing and presumed dead, said Hector Ivan Mejia, a spokesman for the Honduras Security Ministry.
In her mug shot, 24-year-old Karen* looks like a frail child, but she has five young children of her own.
In April 2011, the nation’s last island prison officially closed. McNeil Island Corrections Center, which many referred to as the “good cop” to Alcatraz’s “bad cop,” was located in Puget Sound just west of Steilacoom, Washington, 700 miles north of its more infamous counterpart.
The Supreme Court demands end to prison overcrowding, ruling that California prisons violate the rights to appropriate medical and mental health care.
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Sexual abuse is an uncomfortable topic, but it is a terrible reality for many men and woman inside and out of prison.
Pat Lewis, program manager of a Prison Fellowship faith-based reentry unit in New Zealand, held this belief dear to his heart: that the prisoners and ex-prisoners he passionately served were no different than he was, and must be treated as individuals worthy of dignity and respect.
Prison Fellowship is pleased to announce the re-launch of Inside Journal®, a newspaper written to appeal to the unique needs and interests of the prison population. Distributed through chaplains free of charge, Inside Journal delivers timely, inspirational content—and most importantly the Gospel—to inmates who might otherwise never have access to it.
People often have “come to Jesus” moments in times of crisis, like while lying in a hospital bed with a critical illness or while holding on for dear life during an earthquake. These moments can instantly illuminate the frailty and brevity of life, causing a sudden realization of our dependence on God.
People often have “come to Jesus” moments in times of crisis, like while lying in a hospital bed with a critical illness or while holding on for dear life during an earthquake. These moments can instantly illuminate the frailty and brevity of life, causing a sudden realization of our dependence on God.
Since 1985 the population of female prisoners has risen at nearly double the rate of males. Because women prisoners have historically been few, however, corrections policy has often not taken gender-specific needs into account. But over time, it has become increasingly obvious that female prisoners have different needs than men.
When award-winning singer-songwriter Sara Groves set out to produce a new Christmas album, she wanted to record songs that would inspire reflection on the true meaning of Christmas—that Christ left glory to take up suffering not His own. Groves wound up performing a Christmas concert for prisoners and recording the session live—from behind prison walls.
No snitching. Keep to yourself. Don’t trust people. Mind your own business. These are just some of a long list of understood rules in prison culture, according to Sam Dye, national program director for the InnerChange Freedom Initiative®(IFI), a values-based reentry program developed by and affiliated with Prison Fellowship.
His eyes concealed behind dark sunglasses, Chris Goehner walks into a restaurant in Washington, D.C., shadowed by his service dog, Pelé. When Chris sits, the large, sunny-coated retriever curls up on top of his feet. The restaurant employees notice Pelé and assume that Chris cannot see—until they spy him typing text messages on his cell phone.