PRISON FELLOWSHIP BLOG: Jesse Wiese

On Saturday, July 9th, a symposium on criminal justice reform was held at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University. The event, which received funding from The Charles Koch Foundation and sponsorship by The Fund for American Studies, featured members from organizations who have been integral in the fight for conservative criminal justice reform, including Right on Crime, Families Against Mandatory Minimums, Prison Fellowship, and the Heritage foundation.

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.

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.

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. 

A version of this post appears on the Justice Fellowship website.

In 2015, an estimated 5.8 million Americans are denied their right to vote.  Christian leaders who set policy should act to correct this affront on redemption, restoration, and hope in our communities.

On Friday, November 20, WUSA9 aired interviews with Prison Fellowship’s Jesse Wiese and Craig DeRoche about the landmark Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act currently before the Senate.

The legislation has been named by some as the biggest criminal justice reform bill in this generation.

Speaking in front of an audience at a New Jersey drug treatment center, President Obama announced on Monday the passing of an executive order that will prevent employers from asking potential federal employees on their job applications if they have a criminal record.

A version of this article originally appeared on the Justice Fellowship website.

It’s “boring” to work in prison units where faith-based programs thrive.

According to Justice Fellowship Policy Analyst Jesse Wiese, who served a sentence in an Iowa prison, corrections officers often complained that it was boring to be in a prison unit filled with men and women who were involved in religious programs that taught morality—because there wasn’t much discipline to enforce.

A version of the following post originally appeared on the Justice Fellowship weblog

Justice Fellowship applauds today’s unanimous Supreme Court’s decision in Holt v. Hobbs, which upheld the right of a Muslim prisoner to grow a ½ inch beard in accordance with his religious beliefs.