Free Republic

Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas considers a run for president. So why is he spending a night in prison? On the last day of May, at 5:30 P.M., Building 5 of the Ellsworth Correctional Facility is filled with joyful noise. More than 200 prisoners--roughly a quarter of the inmates at this state prison--have gathered for the midweek worship service. They're taking part in a program run by InnerChange Freedom Initiative, an affiliate of Prison Fellowship, its purpose being to effect such change in the heart of a prisoner that he will, upon release, go and commit crime no more. The...

This year, more than 600,000 inmates will be released from American prisons. Three decades of prison ministry have taught me that most of them are unprepared for life on the outside. Our prisons have done little, if anything, to change the attitudes and behaviors that landed these men behind bars. In addition, these men and women face logistical problems, like jobs, housing, and health care, to name but a few. While, for most people, the problems of ex-offenders are a case of “out of sight, out of mind,” this view is short-sighted in addition to being callous. Fortunately, the president...

Move To Expand Colson's Ministry Draws Fire From Civil Libertarians WASHINGTON — Emboldened by the reported success of a Christian rehabilitation program in state prisons, the Bush administration is seeking ways to expand such programs to inmates in federal prisons. The head of the White House office for faith-based initiatives, Jim Towey, told reporters last week that President Bush had asked Attorney General John Ashcroft to seek ways of expanding such programs to federal prisons. Federal prisons offer a faith-based program that is not tied to any one denomination and have not offered Christian-only programs. Bush's plans are causing alarm...