Just six days after a federal judge in Iowa declared an effective, faith-based program for prisoners unconstitutional, a private commission of leading criminal justice experts released a report detailing the sad state of America’s prisons.
The Commission on Safety and Abuse in America’s Prisons observed that “what happens inside jails and prisons does not stay [there]. It comes home with prisoners.” To combat violence inside the prisons, the Commission says, we need effective programming because “[h]ighly structured programs are proven to reduce misconduct in correctional facilities and to lower recidivism rates after release.”
So why in heaven’s name would a federal judge shut down a highly structured program for prisoners that has been proven to lower recidivism? Why? Because that program, the InnerChange Freedom Initiative, or IFI, a program launched by Prison Fellowship ten years ago, is based on the teachings of Jesus Christ.
You’ve heard me talk about IFI on “BreakPoint” in the past couple of weeks, how prisoners volunteer to participate, how they take educational classes and perform community service. I’ve also told you how independent studies have found that IFI drastically reduces recidivism rates.
None of that mattered to the federal judge, who ruled against Iowa, Prison Fellowship, and IFI in a lawsuit brought by none other than Barry Lynn and Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
Instead, the judge decided that IFI “coerced” prisoners into enrolling essentially because it offered them a quality program and the tools they need to succeed on the outside. As if drug treatment, job preparation, and general education are some kind of bait to lure unsuspecting prisoners into an evangelical Christian program where they could be converted!
But every single prisoner who testified at the trial admitted that he was not coerced into enrolling in the program. Nor are they coerced into staying in it or converting to Christianity.
To add injury to insult, the judge also ordered Prison Fellowship and IFI to repay Iowa $1.5 million — funds the state paid to IFI pursuant to a valid contract to perform needed services such as education and drug treatment.
Prison Fellowship and IFI will appeal the judge’s ruling, and we certainly hope to be vindicated. And I should mention that the program will stay open during the appeals process.
But make no mistake — the judge’s extreme and punitive ruling sends a clear message to any faith-based organization or church that provides needed social services: “Go away. Go away, even if your program is working and inmates are volunteering and asking for the services.” That’s the worst message any government could possibly send, especially as we look at our prison system and its 2.3 million inhabitants in need of transformation.
The Commission on Safety and Abuse in America’s Prisons concludes by saying, “We all bear responsibility for creating correctional institutions that are safe, humane, and productive. This is the moment to confront confinement in the United States.”
Well, then it is certainly not the moment to exclude programs — faith-based or not — that offer “safe, humane, and productive” solutions.
(This update courtesy of the Breakpoint.)
