Prison

From time immemorial would-be young delinquents have been threatened that unless they change their ways, they will end up in prison! The ultimate sanction that conjures up pictures of clanging cell doors, brutal warders, sewing mail-bags and a hard diet of bread and water. Although prison isn't four star accommodation, that image is a bit over-blown. How do I know? Well I did a seven year stretch in one of Her Majesty's Institutions, as a prison chaplain I should add.

One can be in prison for a variety of reasons and not necessarily as a convicted criminal or offender. The great Apostle, Paul languished in jail not as a law-breaker, at least not in God's sight. Nelson Mandela spent twenty-odd years in prison for political reasons and on his eventual release was hailed as the saviour of South Africa.

Also the cause of the prisoner often receives little sympathy from Mr. General Public What about the victims of crime, shouldn't they matter more than the criminals? are often discussed questions. Many people on the outside are convinced that we should lock them up and throw away the key.

But the hard fact is that they are human beings, however bad some of them may be and from a Christian point of view Christ died for all and all need His salvation. We need to answer three basic questions in thinking about prison and prisoners.

Why do we lock people up in the first place ?

There are three traditional reasons. If convicted, whether justly or not, as a punishment. The obvious and basic punishment of prison is one's loss of freedom which under normal circumstances is a fundamental human right. Whilst the prison regime may be strict and austere, it is not intended to be cruel and a brand of ongoing torture, though things may be different elsewhere in the world. The length of incarceration will depend upon the seriousness of the crime or offence, though it is often subject to reduction depending upon the behaviour of the prisoner, amongst other things.

Another reason given for custodial sentences is as a deterrent to other would-be offenders. Not infrequently this can act against the interests of the offender, as in certain cases some offenders are made an example of, simply because of their position in society say as a bank manager or a policeman. Deterrence was one of the main arguments of those in favour of capital punishment. Many other people doubt the strength of this argument.

Finally there is the practical need to protect the general public from certain forms of criminality, especially violent and sexual crimes. There is also a need to protect certain prisoners from each other whilst in prison. Generally speaking people serving life sentences have their sentences subject to parole, and if the prison authorities are satisfied that there is no further danger to the general public, then the prisoners will be released on licence. This means that if they get into any further trouble with the law, however trivial the offence they could be brought back to prison without recourse to a court of law.

How should we treat people in prison ?

The short answer must be, no matter how heinous the crime, with humanity. Granted this can be difficult if the inmate is totally uncooperative but it is essential. Whatever people's feelings may be outside of prison, and indeed whatever prejudices members of the prison staff may have towards their charges, people in prison must be treated as human beings, for that is what they are. For it must be said of many folk outside of prison there but for the grace of God and less piously there but for a stroke of good luck in not being found out, go I.

So theoretically the first rule of the prison service isn't simply to lock offenders up, but to rehabilitate them for a new life on discharge from prison. Even the Victorian penal system with its hard labour, solitary confinement and its pious intents was aimed at reforming wrong-doers by giving them time to repent of their evil and find salvation in Christ. Their punishment being their penance. The role of the chaplain in Victorian times was the next important to the prison Governor. Only at the turn of this century were prisons gradually opened to the ministrations of probation officers, social workers, educationalists etc.

Whilst opportunities for religious worship and teaching are important, the broader, more enlightened approach is also important not only in filling in the time but also in preparation for life on release from prison. Sadly in recent times with the increase of the prison population, staff problems and political interference these ideals of reform have in some prisons gone to the wall.

What is the peculiar challenge of the Prison System to the Christian?

Whatever people in general might think about crime and punishment, for the Christian there is a particular factor, which simply isn't, but for the grace of God go I. It is the fact that all of us, as human beings, stand condemned before the judgement seat of God. As the great apostle puts it starkly, All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3 verse 23) Whilst it is true that not every sin is necessarily a crime, or infraction of human law, as for example adultery, most crimes are a sin against God as well as an offence against our fellow-human beings.

The law by which God judges us is the royal law of his love which embraces not only the outward act but also the inner thought and intention. There is no way we, as human beings, can satisfy this law of love, except by responding to it with faith and repentance. And the potent symbol of God's love for us, as sinners, is the Cross of Christ. The mark of His amazing grace. The place where the Son of God took upon Himself the penalty of our sins and won the victory over sin and death so that we might be forgiven, reconciled to God and set free.

The ultimate prison-house is our own sin-bound spirit - our self-centredness and rebellion, our fear and our guilt. Our God and Creator is the One with whom we are at odds and from this all our other troubled and broken human relationships follow. And given certain circumstances we may just find ourselves at odds with the law and possibly in prison.

So whilst as responsible and good citizens we must uphold the law and see that justice is done, as Christians we cannot forget, to quote an old hymn:

Therefore we are in no position to write anybody off, to throw away any keys, or to abandon our love and care no matter how trying and hopeless the case may be. Amongst other things a prison is a sad and tragic place, even for those who cannot face life on the outside, but more tragic still are those people locked up in the prison of their own alienation from the love of God from which there is no escape except through faith in Christ. The early Methodists sang:

PRISON

Why do we lock people up in the first place ?

How should we treat people in prison ?

What is the peculiar challenge of the Prison System to the Christian?