When I talk to people about prison ministry, recidivism rates and the like, I find that many have a T.V. opinion of what prisons are like and what it's like to be an inmate. While it's true that a great number of incarcerated individuals have mental and/or emotional deficits, there are also a surprising number of folks behind bars who are just as ordinary as you or I. Ordinary, in the sense that, while they have made a big mistake in their lives, (maybe several mistakes), they have families that they love and look forward to being with again when their sentence is fulfilled.
T.V. programs need ratings, so they sensationalize the prison experience and show only the worst of it, riots, fights, etc. And of course that sort of stuff goes on from time to time inside the razor wire. But by in large, prison is a community of its own making. Men go to work at prison jobs, eat in the cafeteria, sleep in bunks in a quad or barracks, enjoy some free time outside smoking or playing ball. They often attend worship services that the prison is required to offer them, and many of them go to school to get a GED or an advanced degree.
This week I found one of the best books I've ever read about prison life. Autobiography of an Execution, by David Dow. Mr. Dow is an attorney specializing in death row cases. His work is all pro-bono and his clients seldom win their appeals, yet he continues. Why? Let me encourage you to read Dow's book. It may forever change how you think about the death sentence and about prison life.
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