But what began as a humanitarian gesture has since become one of the most
violent and inhumane institutions in modern society. Twice as many rapes, for
example, take place inside US prisons as are inflicted on women outside prison.2
Caging people for long periods of time, depriving them of autonomy and
responsibility and self-respect, tearing apart their families, so that the innocent
relatives and children of inmates suffer, throwing together dysfunctional and
damaged people into a huge zoo, and all in name of "correcting" them, is both
inhumane and counter-productive. As Mark Olson observes, "to think that slamming
people behind bars, breaking their spirits, and destroying their souls could do
anything other than lead to more evil is the ultimate naiveté".3 Nor is it a response to
crime that can claim any biblical support whatsoever

It is no accident that those who are marginalised or
disadvantaged or discriminated against in the larger social and economic order tend to
be over-represented in the prison system. That being so, to concentrate all our
energies on imprisoning people for longer and longer periods as an answer to crime
diverts attention from the real causes of crime  -  which are as much to do with social
circumstances as with individual wickedness.
As already noted, biblical Israel placed a strong emphasis on communal
responsibility for sin and wrongdoing, and resisted individual scapegoating. The
opposite prevails today. We strongly emphasise individual freedom and personal
responsibility when it comes to crime. We expel offenders from our midst, as though
removing people who do bad things will somehow rid us of vice. It is true, of course,
that individuals do choose to commit crimes and are accountable for their actions.
But choices are constrained by environmental circumstances, and it is naïve, if not
dishonest, to speak of crime solely in terms of personal free will. Under certain social
conditions people will turn to crime who in other social climates would remain lawabiding.
Poverty, unemployment, racial inequality, social prejudice, family
dysfunction and drug and alcohol abuse all have a role in fostering crime. A
significant proportion of criminal offenders have been offended against as children
before they became offenders. It is crucial therefore to inquire into the societal causes
of, and collective responsibility for, crime rather than being content

In the New Testament, freedom more often refers to an interior
moral and spiritual freedom which the Christian gospel brings, a freedom from
demons and despair, from sin and selfishness, from guilt and greed. The full
experience of God's freedom must embrace both external and internal dimensions,
although each can be experienced separately and neither is dependent on the other.
What this means in practice is that those behind bars can still experience genuine
moral and spiritual liberation even while they remain externally unfree. This is the
powerful truth that lies at the heart of the ministry of Prison Fellowship. But the same
Lord who brings interior freedom also desires to see prisoners set free from their
physical incarceration. This doesn't mean Christian prisoners should be encouraged
to escape! But it does mean their fellow believers should work hard for their eventual
release, and support them through their post-release adjustment, as the consummation
of the freedom Christ brings. It also means Christians should oppose the practi
Then the king will say to those at his right hand, `Come, you that are blessed by
my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the
world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me
something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you
gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you
visited me.' Then the righteous will answer him, `Lord, when was it that we saw
you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And
when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave
you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited
you?' And the king will answer them, `Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one
of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me'.3Matthew 25 vv 34-40
What Jesus was telling his disciples is that, if you want to meet God face to
face, the nearest you are going to come to it on this planet is to look into the
faces of your brothers and sisters  -  and especially your sisters and brothers
who have been declared unrighteous, unclean, unacceptable. It is not that we
find God there; it is that God finds us there. That is where our faith is nurtured
and bears fruit. There where we expect to meet monsters, we meet God instead.
The opportunity to serve God lies there among the prisoners who have been
reckoned to be least deserving of any service at all.1
healing.

:: COMMUNITY: The third element of a Christian position on prisons must be
a commitment to the reintegration of released prisoners into "communities of care".
Concern for those behind bars must be accompanied by generous hospitality towards
them when they have finished their sentences and face the struggle of re-entering an
often suspicious and hostile community.
People often defend prisons as a means by which offenders can "pay their debt
to society". But the metaphor fails. Not only does society foot the bill for
imprisonment but ex-prisoners are never really discharged of their debt. They bear a
seemingly ineradicable stigma of having been inside. In the eyes of society, a period
of imprisonment serves to establish criminality as "an indelible ontological
attribute".
