Yesterday the Senate Judiciary Committee approved S.1231, the Second Chance Reauthorization Act of 2011, authored by Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Rob Portman (R-Oh). The bill provides resources to state and local governments as well as community-based organizations, to improve the success rates for people released from prison and jail. The committee reported out the bill on a 10 to 8 party line vote. The bill extends the original grant program authorized by the Second Chance Act for an additional five years while also improving and consolidating certain provisions. S.1231 provides planning and implementation support for key reentry grantees; creates an incentive for federal inmates to participate in recidivism reduction programming; and repeals several programs that have not been funded or implemented. There are currently more than 2M people in jail or prison in the US, and more than 13M people spend some time in jail or prison each year. The Second Chance Act recognizes that most of these people will at some point return to our communities.
This is excellent news!
Friday, July 22, 2011
Sunday, July 10, 2011
A Story to Tell
This is the story of Michael, an ex-offender. At least that would have been the label I gave him 2-years ago. Today, I can celebrate with Michael his new title, Productive Citizen!
Michael went to prison not once, but twice in his first 40 years. The first time for credit card fraud and the second time on a sex offense because his "girlfriend" was underage and he was emotionally immature. Michael was released on a 2-year probation in 2009 but this time he was determined to do something different that would keep him from going back to jail. The problem was, what? how? who?
Now here comes the good part of the story. Michael had been attending Luther Luckett Christian Church, the only fully recognized congregation inside the walls of a prison in Kentucky. Luther Luckett Christian Church was developed on the Prison Congregations of America model and is associated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) demonination. Rev. Dean Bucalos, an ordained Disciples minister presides over worship services every Friday evening at the church in the prison where Michael became a member while serving his time. Michael also attended Life Skills classes put on by the church and learned that there was much he didn't know about how to live in the "free world." Luckily for Michael and the other men at Luther Luckett Correctional Complex, the church also allows men to make application to participate in a Nurturing, Support and Accountability Group (NSAG) upon release. Those men who are accepted into the program meet weekly after their release with a NSAG where they set goals and are held accountable for those goals. Michael qualified for a NSAG and was matched with a group of 8 trained volunteers, among them an attorney, a business woman, a banker, a teacher, a physical therapist, and a mom. Volunteers from all walks of life coming together to make a difference in one man's life.
For Michael, the journey from prison to productivity was full of pitfalls and he stumbled a time or two. But the NSAG was there to pick him up, dust him off, and set him right back on the road through mentoring, helping Michael own up to his failings and learn to overcome them. Michael still lives in a half-way house, but he now has a good Union job where he was recently promoted to Section Leader. He owns his own car and sometime this winter he'll make the final car payment. As soon as the car is paid off Michael hopes to be able to move out of his temporary living arrangement into an apartment of his own. Michael also looks forward to the end of his second year of freedom and the end of his official probation, but he plans to stay in touch with his NSAG friends and in fact would like to serve as a volunteer on a NSAG once his probation is over. Michael would like to pay it forward. Now, that's a story to tell!
Michael went to prison not once, but twice in his first 40 years. The first time for credit card fraud and the second time on a sex offense because his "girlfriend" was underage and he was emotionally immature. Michael was released on a 2-year probation in 2009 but this time he was determined to do something different that would keep him from going back to jail. The problem was, what? how? who?
Now here comes the good part of the story. Michael had been attending Luther Luckett Christian Church, the only fully recognized congregation inside the walls of a prison in Kentucky. Luther Luckett Christian Church was developed on the Prison Congregations of America model and is associated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) demonination. Rev. Dean Bucalos, an ordained Disciples minister presides over worship services every Friday evening at the church in the prison where Michael became a member while serving his time. Michael also attended Life Skills classes put on by the church and learned that there was much he didn't know about how to live in the "free world." Luckily for Michael and the other men at Luther Luckett Correctional Complex, the church also allows men to make application to participate in a Nurturing, Support and Accountability Group (NSAG) upon release. Those men who are accepted into the program meet weekly after their release with a NSAG where they set goals and are held accountable for those goals. Michael qualified for a NSAG and was matched with a group of 8 trained volunteers, among them an attorney, a business woman, a banker, a teacher, a physical therapist, and a mom. Volunteers from all walks of life coming together to make a difference in one man's life.
For Michael, the journey from prison to productivity was full of pitfalls and he stumbled a time or two. But the NSAG was there to pick him up, dust him off, and set him right back on the road through mentoring, helping Michael own up to his failings and learn to overcome them. Michael still lives in a half-way house, but he now has a good Union job where he was recently promoted to Section Leader. He owns his own car and sometime this winter he'll make the final car payment. As soon as the car is paid off Michael hopes to be able to move out of his temporary living arrangement into an apartment of his own. Michael also looks forward to the end of his second year of freedom and the end of his official probation, but he plans to stay in touch with his NSAG friends and in fact would like to serve as a volunteer on a NSAG once his probation is over. Michael would like to pay it forward. Now, that's a story to tell!
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Where would you be?
I had the privilege of attending worship last night at Luther Luckett Christian Church, inside the wall of Luther Luckett Correctional Complex in LaGrange Kentucky, and as always it was an inspiring experience as I sat side by side with inmate members of the congregation and other outside visitors. Last night a guest pastor from St. Johns UCC brought the message as our own pastor was on his way to the Disciples of Christ General Assembly in Nashville. Her text was the parable of sower, you know, some fell on rocky ground, some on thorny ground and some in fertile soil. Her question then, "which kind of soil are you?," was not as "in your face" as you may be thinking. This young black pastor, just out of seminary and excited about her impending ordination, reminded us that God just keeps tilling and fertilizing until we become that fertile soil where faith blooms. As I sit here writing this blog, all my muscles are screaming in protest of the garden work I inflicted on them this morning. Made me wonder how God could possibly have the energy, not to mention the patience, to keep working in God's garden. I don't know about you, but my soil didn't start out all that good. There were quite a few times when God must have thought those rocks and thorns would never clear get cleared out. But God's been working on me all these many years so that today my garden usually grows some healthy veggies and pretty flowers. Then I remembered the take-home message in last night's sermon. "Where would you be if God gave up on you?" If God won't give up, neither should we. Love your neighbor, visit those in prison, forgive your enemy, fertilize, fertilize, fertilize .... Niki
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Book Suggestion
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.
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.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Kentucky working to reduce recidivism
Kentucky, the state that led the nation with the highest rate of recidivism last year, has begun to make progress in reducing the number of ex-offenders that return to prison within the first year of their release. Sounds great doesn't it? But there's more to the numbers than may immedately meet the eye. While the 2008 rate of recidivism (29.5 percent) is the lowest since 2000, at least some of this progress, according to a recent statement by Corrections Commissioner LaDonna Thompson, is the result of changes in probation and parole procedures. These changes include decreasing the number of people going back to prison due to certain technical parole violations such as missed curfew or failing to provide an updated address in a timely fashion.
Now I'm all for anything that reduces the cost to incarcerate, and certainly these changes have made big savings ($447 million) there is still a lot of work to be done to insure that ex-offenders both don't commit new crimes AND become productive tax paying citizens. That's where programs such as Mission Behind Bars and Beyond is helping.
Mission Behind Bars and Beyond trains community volunteers to create small Accountability Teams that surround an ex-offender, offering mentoring, goal setting and accountability of goal attainment. Ex-offenders and volunteers work together to identify needs such as housing, transportation, education, and employment, and set goals to address those issues. Team members create a mentoring community, a safe environment of trust that allows an ex-offender to learn skills necessary for successful transition into society.
Mission Behind Bars and Beyond is funded by donations from individuals like you who have an interest in helping the marginalized of society improve their situation. To learn more, be sure to visit http://www.missionbehindbarsandbeyond.org/
Working together with volunteers, prison officials and local and state governments, we all benefit.
Now I'm all for anything that reduces the cost to incarcerate, and certainly these changes have made big savings ($447 million) there is still a lot of work to be done to insure that ex-offenders both don't commit new crimes AND become productive tax paying citizens. That's where programs such as Mission Behind Bars and Beyond is helping.
Mission Behind Bars and Beyond trains community volunteers to create small Accountability Teams that surround an ex-offender, offering mentoring, goal setting and accountability of goal attainment. Ex-offenders and volunteers work together to identify needs such as housing, transportation, education, and employment, and set goals to address those issues. Team members create a mentoring community, a safe environment of trust that allows an ex-offender to learn skills necessary for successful transition into society.
Mission Behind Bars and Beyond is funded by donations from individuals like you who have an interest in helping the marginalized of society improve their situation. To learn more, be sure to visit http://www.missionbehindbarsandbeyond.org/
Working together with volunteers, prison officials and local and state governments, we all benefit.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Florida Parole System Bests Kentucky
I am amazed, as I know you will be, that in Kentucky an inmate coming up for parole has no legal representation at his parole hearing. Think about that. Here comes this inmate who may or may not be literate, may or may not have any understanding of the parole system, and may or may not be able to express him/herself verbally, to stand before a 3-person parole board and in about 15-minutes convey the story of his life change in such a way that he successfully wins parole. I don't think I could do that!
To be fair, the parole board has, presumably had a chance to review the inmates records in advance. So these individuals, who often attend a parole hearing only by video conference, have the sort of knowledge of this inmate that paper documents can provide. Beyond that however, they have no sense of the person standing before them or who face appears on the video screen. It's up to the inmate to plead his/her case.
Now let's contrast this scenareo with the Florida Parole system in which an attorney appears on behalf of the inmate and another attorney appears on behalf of the State. Witnesses, such as the inmates minister, prison chaplin, former employer or teacher, may be called to appear and testify on behalf of the inmate or against him/her. The Board has access to the inmates' prison record of course, but also has a chance to really get a feel for who the inmates was, is and perhaps could be in the future.
My question is, which do you perceive as the most balanced and fair system? Kind of a no-brainer isn't it?
To be fair, the parole board has, presumably had a chance to review the inmates records in advance. So these individuals, who often attend a parole hearing only by video conference, have the sort of knowledge of this inmate that paper documents can provide. Beyond that however, they have no sense of the person standing before them or who face appears on the video screen. It's up to the inmate to plead his/her case.
Now let's contrast this scenareo with the Florida Parole system in which an attorney appears on behalf of the inmate and another attorney appears on behalf of the State. Witnesses, such as the inmates minister, prison chaplin, former employer or teacher, may be called to appear and testify on behalf of the inmate or against him/her. The Board has access to the inmates' prison record of course, but also has a chance to really get a feel for who the inmates was, is and perhaps could be in the future.
My question is, which do you perceive as the most balanced and fair system? Kind of a no-brainer isn't it?
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Kentucky Law Repealed as Unconstitutional
In a 5-2 decision today, the Supreme Court of Kentucky ruled that a law limiting where registered sex offenders can live is unconstitutional in that it attempted to be applied retroactively from its inception date of July 12, 2006. The court rulled that the law cannot apply to those who committed offenses before the day the original law was enacted. The law, that prohibits sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of playgrounds, daycare centers and schools also changed how the distance is measured.
In this ruling, the court said the law is punitive in nature and violates the ex post facto clause, or retroactive law, in the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits states from passing laws that increase punishment for old crimes. The restrictions will still apply to anyone convicted after July 2006. You may remember that the whole issue came to the Supreme Court because of ex-offenders who were now living peacefully in homes they owned prior to 2006. Enactment of the original version of the law meant that these individuals would, in some cases, have to sell their homes and move or be in violation of the law.
While the action today may be good news for some, I expect we've not heard the end of this and can just imagine the uproar that will ensue from those who follow the Salem Witch Trial philosophy of "kill them first and then ask questions."
In this ruling, the court said the law is punitive in nature and violates the ex post facto clause, or retroactive law, in the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits states from passing laws that increase punishment for old crimes. The restrictions will still apply to anyone convicted after July 2006. You may remember that the whole issue came to the Supreme Court because of ex-offenders who were now living peacefully in homes they owned prior to 2006. Enactment of the original version of the law meant that these individuals would, in some cases, have to sell their homes and move or be in violation of the law.
While the action today may be good news for some, I expect we've not heard the end of this and can just imagine the uproar that will ensue from those who follow the Salem Witch Trial philosophy of "kill them first and then ask questions."
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