The Justice Department: Setting the Captives Free?

Last updated on: October 7, 2015 at 12:04 pm by Kyle Roberts

The Justice Department: Setting the Captives Free? 2015-10-07T12:04:15-05:00 Kyle Roberts

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The Justice Department has announced a plan to set 6,000 prisoners free, which as the Washington Post describes, is “the largest one-time release of federal prisoners.”

California State Prison (in 2006) illustrates overcrowding: By California Dept. of Corrections (public domain)

This is only the first step in a larger process of prison reform, which will eventuate in tens of thousands more inmates being released from prison and moved to half-way houses or home confinement. The Post tells us that changes in federal sentencing guidelines could mean that “46,000 of the nation’s approximately 100,000 drug offenders in federal prison” will eventually be eligible “for early release.”

In a recent post, I argued that capital punishment represents the “thin” or narrow conception of justice upon which our criminal justice system is based. The U.S. has simply given up on any attempts at rehabilitation, reclamation, healing, etc., of criminal offenders. We have found it much simpler to simply box them up in cages.

The present reform, leading to this large-scale release of non-violent drug offenders, is a crucial step away from the harsh, unyielding, and unsustainable penal system with which we have saddled ourselves.

Harsh sentences for non-violent offenders is really only one aspect of injustices that run throughout the system. Racial discrimination and racial disparity is another.

An upcoming half-day conference (Oct. 16) here at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities will address these issues. The conference, titled “The Ties that Bind,” will feature plenary speakers, Dr. Nekima Levy-Pounds and Rev. Alan Bean. You can read about these speakers and other breakout panelists on the conference website.

Previous Post

October 6, 2015

California is Now a "Right to Die" State (and That's a Good Thing)

Next Post

October 9, 2015 "Hate One Another as I Have Hated You"? (The Problem with Divine Command Theory)

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month December 2020 November 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 December 2018 July 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz