The Church of the Second Chance: A Faith-Based Approach to Prison Reform
Jens Soering

Introduction

1. Adam and Eve and Divine Justice
• Retribution and restoration
• Capital punishment
• Transcending the scales of justice
• Three theories of atonement
• Interview with "George G."
• Questions for Reflection and Discussion
2. Joseph and Commonly Held Beliefs about Prison
• The American way is the only way.
• Prison reduces crime.
• Prison teaches criminals a lesson.
• Prison deters many people who would otherwise commit crimes.
• Prison incapacitates offenders; they cannot harm anyone as long as they are locked up.
• A brief interlude about AIDS and the dangers of doing research in prison
• Prison punishes.
• Prison rehabilitates.
• Interview with Reverend Bill Twine
• Questions for Reflection and Discussion
3. Moses and Turning a Blind Eye to Prison
• The birth of the penitentiary
• Racism
• The media
• The law
• "No one just, not one"
• Interview with "Carlton L."
• Questions for Reflection and Discussion
4. Samson and Victims' Rights
• Justice For All
• Healing pain
• Murder Victims' Families for Reconciliation
• "Be angry, but do not sin."
• Achieving justice—capital punishment
• Achieving justice—long prison sentences
• Recidivism
• "The suffering of another person"
• Interview with Linda White
• Questions for Reflection and Discussion
5. David and Rehabilitation
• Rehabilitation and its enemies
• Education
• Substance abuse treatment
• Mental health / sex offender treatment
• Reentry programs
• The future
• Interview with "Kent I."
• Questions for Reflection and Discussion
6. Daniel and Correctional Mammon
• The "rising" crime rate
• "Crime may not pay, but prisons sure do."
• Gold coins
• Prison labor
• Exploiting prisoners' families
• "Save Southampton Correctional Center"
• Reentry for guards
• "Gross abuses of public trust"
• A historical postscript
• Interview with Charles Campbell
• Questions for Reflection and Discussion
7. Jesus and Prison Conditions
• The industrialization of prison
• Let them eat cake!
• "Not clinical problems but business practices"
• "Caged animals"
• Shakedown
• Displaced aggression
• "Entitled to ordinary respect"
• Tacit premise
• Interview with Ras Talawa Tafari
• Questions for Reflection and Discussion
8. Paul and Prison Ministry
• Conventional religious volunteer work
• Faith-based prisons, Part 1
• Faith-based prisons, Part 2
• Faith-based prisons, Part 3
• Religious reentry programs
• Interview with Dennis and Loretta Beeman
• Questions for Reflection and Discussion
9. Onesimus and Death by Incarceration
• Bigger sticks
• "Three strikes and you're out."
• Parole abolition and ALEC
• Parole abolition and crime
• Parole abolition and criminals
• Parole and "old law" prisoners
• Parole abolition and the future
• Mandatory minimums
• Life sentences
• Life versus LWOP
• Life sentences and the victims' perspective
• Life sentences and the lifers' perspective
• Life sentences and the international perspective
• Bigger sticks and elderly prisoners
• Elderly prisoners and life behind bars
• Elderly prisoners and those 63 billion reasons
• Interview with "Bud T."
• Letter from "Rusty J." to "Bud T.," October 10, 1992
• Letter from "Rusty J." to "Bud T.," February 22, 2005
• Questions for Reflection and Discussion

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