![\"prison](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/543\/2015\/09\/prison-bars.jpg\")
<\/a><\/span><\/p>\nFirst published at\u00a0By Their Strange Fruit<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n In the United States, the land of the free, we incarcerate\u00a0<\/span>more of our citizens per capita<\/span><\/a>\u00a0than any other country in the world. What may have at some point been intended to maintain safety and security for our citizens has resulted in an abusive system that perpetuates itself for its own sake.<\/span><\/p>\n There has been a\u00a0500% increase<\/span><\/a>\u00a0in our prison population over the last 30 years. Though only 5% of the earth\u2019s population lives in the United States, we house over\u00a025% of the world\u2019s prisoners<\/span><\/a>. More than\u00a0one out of every 100 adults<\/span><\/a>\u00a0in the country is currently behind bars. As elections are won on \u2018tough-on-crime\u2019 platforms, draconian prosecution policies and mandatory minimum sentencing have bloated jails and ruined lives.<\/span><\/p>\n Rather than intervene and rehabilitate, the criminal justice system, as it currently functions, serves to further entrench marginalized communities into a cycle of oppression. Inmates most often\u00a0rejoin society\u00a0ill prepared to make meaningful changes in their lives. Drug treatment is only available to\u00a0one out of ten inmates<\/span><\/a>\u00a0that need it.\u00a0Approximately\u00a0200,000 inmates<\/span><\/a>\u00a0have serious mental illnesses that receive insufficient treatment in prisons. As budgets tighten, crucial resources for education, counseling, and spiritual guidance disappear. Without meaningful programming to develop necessary skills and strategies while on the inside, old habits will quickly reemerge once prisoners are back on the outside.<\/span><\/p>\n Having a criminal record also means losing access to the support structures necessary to getting back on one\u2019s feet after incarceration. After release, ex-offenders often cannot qualify for food stamps or public housing. They face severe discrimination in finding jobs or applying to schools. They can no longer serve on juries and forfeit the right to vote. In reality, it\u2019s not actually a \u2018return to society\u2019 at all, and over 75% of prisoners released are\u00a0re-arrested within five years<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n The criminal justice system in the United States is severely biased along racial lines, resulting in the disproportionate incarceration of black and brown citizens. In\u00a0her book \u2018The New Jim Crow,\u2019 Michelle Alexander asserts that \u201cby targeting black men through the War on Drugs and decimating communities of color, the US criminal justice system functions as a contemporary system of racial control\u2026even as it formally adheres to the principle of colorblindness.\u201d Indeed, even though African Americans comprise 13% of drug users in the United States (paralleling population demographics generally), they\u00a0represent over 40%<\/span>\u00a0of those incarcerated on drug offenses. \u00a0One in three Black men, and one in six Latino men<\/span><\/a>, are apt to be imprisoned in their lifetime, while only one in seventeen white will ever be. Similarly, Black women are incarcerated at a rate\u00a0six times higher<\/span><\/a>\u00a0than white women.\u00a0Seventy-five percent<\/span><\/a>\u00a0of them are mothers. Angela Davis notes that \u201cthe fastest growing group of prisoners are black women, and Native American prisoners are the largest group per capita.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n These disparities are the result of systematized discrimination at all levels of the criminal justice process. From the\u00a0school-to-prison pipeline<\/span><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0stop-and-frisk policies<\/span><\/a>, to bias in sentencing and racialized drug legislation, the odds are stacked against citizens of color in the United States. For example, the development of crack cocaine made narcotic use more affordable in low-income communities, including in cities that were already\u00a0segregated\u00a0across\u00a0racial\u00a0lines due to\u00a0redlining and white-flight<\/span><\/a>. Along with the emergence of demographic differences in drug choice, the\u00a0Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986<\/span><\/a>\u00a0mandated that possession of 5,000 grams of powdered cocaine carried the same sentence as possession of only 50 grams of crack, a\u00a01:100 disparity<\/span><\/a>. In addition, aggressive and racially slanted\u00a0immigration laws<\/span><\/a>\u00a0have led to a\u00a0six-fold increase<\/span><\/a>\u00a0in detentions. The\u00a0majority of these new detainees are Latino<\/span><\/a>, further skewing incarceration demographics along color lines.<\/span><\/p>\n Heinously, there is much money to be made from a system such as this. Though we spend almost\u00a0$50 billion per year<\/span><\/a>\u00a0on the prison system, some individuals and institution are using the opportunity to get rich. The term\u00a0\u2018Prison Industrial complex\u2019<\/span><\/a>\u00a0describes the system in which private corporations and government institutions partner together to create an inextricable alliance resulting in tremendous financial profit. The prison business can be quite lucrative. Private companies make millions through the construction of new prisons, government contracts for prison management, and supplying prisons with furnishings and consumables.<\/span><\/p>\n Moreover, inmates are made to work for\u00a0as little as $0.12<\/span><\/a>\u00a0on assembly lines and work crews. The prison companies can then sell the product of their labor at substantial profit. Thus, the prison population is seen as a captive workforce, one that can be minimally paid and that need not receive any employee benefits such as insurance or retirement. There are no union strikes; no paid sick leave, no spouse or dependent benefits, and the employee are always on time. Is it any wonder that our jails stay filled?<\/span><\/p>\n Indeed, stipulations are often written into the contracts of prison management companies to require90%occupancy<\/span><\/a>\u00a0of the facilities. The two largest for profit prison companies, Corrections Corporation of America and Geo Group, played significant roles in\u00a0crafting criminal justice legislation<\/span><\/a>\u00a0in the United States, leading to increased mandatory minimums and incarceration rates. Concurrently, companies cut costs by reducing quality of life and basic care for inmates, leading to overcrowding and inhumane conditions.<\/span><\/p>\n Reporter\u00a0Chris Hedges observes that<\/span><\/a>\u00a0\u201cpoor people, especially those of color, are worth nothing to corporations and private contractors if they are on the street. In jails and prisons, however, they each can generate corporate revenues of $30,000 to $40,000 a year.\u201d Thus, the current system of incarceration and labor exploitation is often seen as a\u00a0continuation of practices<\/span><\/a>\u00a0dating back to labor chain gangs and slavery in the United Sates.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Scripture tells us that we are to \u201cremember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them\u201d (Hebrews 13:3). But Angela Davis describes how we instead intentionally hide society\u2019s unwanted members away from our collective consciousness.\u00a0She notes that<\/span><\/a>\u00a0\u201chomelessness, unemployment, drug addiction, mental illness, and illiteracy are only a few of the problems that disappear from public view when the human beings contending with them are relegated to cages\u2026Prisons do not disappear problems, they disappear human beings.\u201d This is why Jesus reminds us so sternly to visit prisoners and insists that it is among these that we will find him (Matthew 25:36).<\/span><\/p>\n Unfortunately, the Church does not always follow Christ\u2019s example with this regard.\u00a0Lawrence T. Jablecki asserts<\/span><\/a>\u00a0that \u201cthe for-profit criminal detention industry and the Christian right are joined at the hip by a draconian moral and political perspective that impedes the realization of a genuine system of criminal justice that protects the dignity and rights of every person.\u201d Christian communities and political organizations often perpetuate unjust systems of incarceration in the name of \u201cChristian values\u201d and \u201cbiblical morality.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Others though are taking a stand for prison reform. In an\u00a0interview for Huffington Post<\/span><\/a>, Rev. Robina Winbush suggests that \u201cthe ministry of Jesus the Christ was about challenging unjust systems that held individuals and marginalized communities in bondage.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Indeed, in early 2014 leaders of Christian Churches Together, a large coalition of church leaders in the United States,\u00a0declared<\/span><\/a>\u00a0that \u201cthe church in the United States has a moral and ethical imperative to protect human dignity and must address the problem of mass incarceration in our nation.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Shortly thereafter during Holy Week preparations for Easter, a multidenominational group of Christian leaders\u00a0released a statement<\/span><\/a>\u00a0advocating reforms to \u201crepeal policies that unnecessarily criminalize millions of people and place a vastly disproportionate burden on poor and black communities.\u201d They concluded their statement by invoking the symbolism of Easter itself \u201cwe, leaders of faith call for a rebirth and resurrection of communities burdened by the harms of injustice oftentimes masquerading under the guise of law and order and criminal justice.<\/span><\/p>\n Rev. John Jackson of Trinity United Church in Indiana asserts<\/span><\/a>\u00a0that \u201cthe policies of this failed war on drugs \u2014 which in reality, is a war on people who happen to be poor, primarily black and brown \u2014 is a stain on the image of this society\u2026. If the resurrection season means anything, it means that people are to be loved and not used. People should be helped and not harassed and that people should be placed above profit.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Mark Osler<\/span><\/a>, a professor of law at the University of St. Thomas, suggests that not only should Christians join the fight for prison reform, they should be leading the way: \u201cFor Christians, this system violates the basic rule of compassion and balance that infuses the morality of the faith. Mandatory minimum sentencing laws, in particular, bar any role for mercy. This result is utterly inconsistent with Jesus\u2019s teachings and actions, which emphasized mercy in our dealings with one another.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Scripture tells us that \u201cthe Lord hears the needy and does not despise his own people who are prisoners\u201d (Psalm 69:33). As Christians, we must learn what it means to \u201clet the groans of the prisoners come before you\u201d (Psalm 79:11) and to listen to those whom we are called to minister.<\/span><\/p>\n Next, we will explore how Christians might better remember and serve the incarcerated, and learn about a prison program in Ohio that is meeting success, even in the face of challenges.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Katelin Hansen<\/strong>\u00a0(@BTSFblog<\/span><\/a>) is the editor of\u00a0By Their Strange Fruit<\/span><\/a>\u00a0(BTSF), an online ministry facilitating justice and understanding across racial divides. BTSF explores how Christianity\u2019s often-bungled relationship with race and racism\u00a0affects modern ministry and justice. Recognizing that racial brokenness hinders our witness to the world, BTSF strives to increase the visibly of healthy and holy racial discussion by approaching justice and reconciliation from a Christ-minded perspective.\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" First published at\u00a0By Their Strange Fruit\u00a0 In the United States, the land of the free, we incarcerate\u00a0more of our citizens per capita\u00a0than any other country in the world. What may have at some point been intended to maintain safety and security for our citizens has resulted in an abusive system that perpetuates itself for its […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4085,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[158],"tags":[81,229,230,228],"class_list":["post-4076","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-guest-contributions","tag-churches","tag-katelin-hansen","tag-prison","tag-prison-industrial-complex"],"yoast_head":"\nRACE, PROFIT, AND MASS INCARCERATION<\/span><\/h2>\n
THE CHURCH\u2019S RESPONSE<\/span><\/h2>\n