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Statement, 1975 Annual Conference
Criminal Justice ReformContents:
Query
Because most of our correctional centers--prisons, jails,
and lock-ups--dehumanize and brutalize individuals, especially those who
are poor, members of minority ethnic groups and generally the helpless
members of our society;
because the writer of Hebrews wrote, "Remember those who are in prison,
as though you are in prison with them" (Hebrews 13:3);
because at the beginning of Jesus' ministry he declared that he was sent
to proclaim release to the captives and to set free the oppressed (Luke
4:18);
because Jesus associated with outcasts and showed compassion for the unlovable
persons of his time and challenged all Christians to visit persons in
prison;
we of the Church of the Brethren, North Manchester, through the South/Central
District Conference of Indiana, petition the Annual Conference, meeting
in June of 1974, at Roanoke, Virginia, to request the General Board to
establish a task force to study, compile information on. and report to
the Brotherhood at the 1975 Annual Conference appropriate means by which
churches can address themselves to the issue of criminal justice reform.
Robert Beery, Moderator
Lola Sanger, Clerk
Action of 1973 District Conference: Passed to Annual
Conference.
Robert Tully, Moderator
Helen Noffsinger, Writing Clerk
Action of 1974 Annual Conference: The recommendation
of Standing Committee, presented by Ted Whitacre, was that the request
of the query be granted. This was accepted and the query was referred
to the General Board
1975 Report of the General Board
The General Board appointed a Task Force and requested that
it develop a proposed answer to the query for the consideration of the
Board. The Task Force was composed of Guy E. Wampler, Jr., chairperson,
pastor of Beacon Heights Church of the Brethren, Fort Wayne, Ind.; David
Eis of North Manchester, Ind., an employee of PACE (Public Action for
Correctional Effort), an organization which aids in criminal reform, rehabilitation
of inmates and ex-offenders; Robert Gross, an ex-prisoner as a non-registrant
under the Selective Service System, Churubusco, Ind.; George Petsock of
Harrisburg, Pa., who has served for more than twenty years in the Pennsylvania
state penal system and is currently involved in the system's community
efforts for rehabilitation; Marianne Rhoades Pittman, campus ministry
and counselor to youth, Champaign, Ill.; Ralph E. Smeltzer, staff representative
from the General Board.
The Task Force reviewed major studies, evaluated current developments/trends,
and interviewed a limited number of persons involved in various phases
of the criminal justice system. These efforts led the Task Farce to the
conviction that it should focus upon things that the Brethren might do--"appropriate
means" in the language of the query--rather than offer theoretical
study material. The report was brought to the General Board; it was discussed
at length, with additional conversation between the Task Force and a smaller
group of board/staff members. The report was then revised by the Task
Force and brought back to the Board for discussion, revision, and action.
The General Board now presents the following report as its recommended
answer to the 1974 query on Criminal Justice Reforms, and proposes its
adoption for the guidance of the Brethren. (The General Board also acted
to give priority to this concern by making it an explicit item in the
social justice priority for 1976-77.)
The imprisoned are perhaps the most neglected and abused group in our
society. Ironically, when these offenders are neglected and abused, not
only they but society as well is victimized. The New Testament symbol
of the towel impels Brethren to reach out to those who have been made
outcasts and scapegoats. Whenever this effort is fruitful, society itself
becomes healthier and more secure.
I. Some Areas of Concern
The failures of our present criminal justice system are
widely apparent. The rising crime rate is one evidence that the system
neither deters nor rehabilitates.
There are many specific areas of concern.
1. The system tends to serve the powerful segments of the society and
to protect property at the expense of persons.
2. The arbitrary use of discretionary power in dealing with offenders
often punishes the poor and powerless, frees the rich and powerful, and
allows the prejudices of society to run unchallenged.
3. Our social institutions, including families, schools, welfare agencies,
and churches, share a responsibility for creating or permitting the conditions
which result in criminal behavior.
4. Racial, ethnic, and sexual discrimination is prevalent, and damaging
to persons.
5. The public has come to accept many misconceptions:
* that prisons protect us from crime.
* that reformatories reform, correctional centers
correct, penitentiaries teach penitence.
* that incarceration rehabilitates.
* that most people in prison are dangerous.
* that one must be an expert in criminology
to help a law offender.
* that poor people and minority groups are
more inclined to commit crimes than others.
* that more money for police, police hardware,
judges, and jails will make our society safer.
* that "model prison behavior" signifies
rehabilitation.
* that most lawbreakers are in jail or prison.
* that all persons in jail are guilty.
6. The education, training, and salaries or police, correctional officers,
and keepers of the jail frequently are not commensurate with their job
requirements.
7. Prosecutors often use grand juries as a rubber stamp to bring criminal
charges, and on occasion to harass citizens, to abuse their rights and
liberties, or to pursue political purposes.
8. Jails, prisons, and lockups are at best human warehouses and at worst
brutal un-sanitary dens. Incarceration itself is dehumanizing and takes
away from persons their economic base, breaks down their family ties,
and separates them from helpful community resources.
9. The demoralizing homosexual assaults and abuse by inmates in the prison
upon short or long sentenced individuals entering the correctional institution
which often leaves the individual with life long emotional and moral scars.
10. Many alleged offenders are kept in jail solely because of inability
to pay bail money.
11. Too much money, effort, and time are spent on security and far too
little on helping prisoners develop skills and attitudes for re-integration
into society.
12. Offenders are limited to "doing time" as punishment rather
than using time for personal growth or direct and meaningful restitution
to the offended.
13. The carrot-stick philosophy in which the promise of release is conditional
upon "model" prison behavior is one of the most cruel aspects
of incarceration.
14. Parole boards often base their decisions about the amount of time
to be served on insufficient and inaccurate information which is not subject
to public scrutiny or due process.
15. In many areas young people are oftentimes incarcerated with adults
for offenses which would not be considered offenses if they were adults.
II. Acting Out God's Justice and Love
In offering guidance to Brethren who seek to express Christian
concern in the area of criminal justice we see three general approaches:
working with individual offenders, reforming the system, and living an
alternative. We believe that each of these approaches has validity within
the Christian context. We encourage Brethren to be challenged by all of
these recommendations and to act upon that combination which is consistent
with their convictions.
A. Working with Individual Offenders
Those who make direct contact with prisoners and their families touch
one of the bitterest aspects of incarceration--isolation. This ministry
can be a demonstration of agape love, and might be expressed in a variety
of ways:
1. Visiting incarcerated persons as a friend and advocate. (Because of
differences in social, economic and religious backgrounds, Brethren need
to avoid being judgmental, condescending or paternalistic.)
2. Assisting prisoners in obtaining an attorney, in securing reading material
and in purchasing items from the commissary.
3. Helping to preserve family ties by bringing prisoners information about
their families, assisting family members in obtaining transportation to
and from the prison, and seeing that dependents are cared for.
4. Offering to teach academic subjects, crafts, music, drama, and to lead
group counseling and recreation.
5. Providing worship opportunities and counseling where desired.
6. Helping ex-offenders find meaningful employment and, if necessary,
suitable lodging. (According to authorities, the highest percentage of
parole failures occur within the first six months after release, with
the greater number occurring within the first sixty days.)
7. Helping to provide bail money, thus enabling prisoners to take a larger
role in preparing for their own defense and to return to their families,
jobs, and other supporting relationships.
8. Standing up with defendants in court, thus increasing their chances
of avoiding incarceration.
B. Reforming the System
Some Brethren show an increasing interest in systemic change. A strength
of this approach is that it can multiply the number of beneficiaries.
These Brethren are encouraged to work for the following changes:
1. That alternatives to incarceration and diversion programs (detoxification
centers for the care of alcohol and drug abusers, halfway houses, release
on recognizance, bail reform, trial diversion to allow for resolution
before charges are filed, probation, work/study releases, and weekend
sentences) be used whenever applicable.
2. That paying bail bond for release pending trial be replaced by a more
just system which might include release to the supervision of a responsible
person, a nonprofit agency, a probation or parole officer, or, as a last
resort, detention with release during certain hours.
3. That prison populations be reduced instead of building new prisons.
4. That more community-based correctional centers be established in order
to keep offenders close to home and utilize existing community resources
for rehabilitation.
5. That offenders to be incarcerated be given a choice between a sentence
which is automatically completed when contracted objectives are achieved
and a sentence which is completed at the end of a fixed period.
6. That more appropriate and helpful means be found to deal with offenses
such as vagrancy, drug use, drunkenness, gambling, and prostitution. (At
present, half of those arrested and half of those in local jails are charged
with these offenses.)
7. That appropriate legislation be enacted and enforced to guarantee minimum
standards for all jails and prisons and to safeguard the right of prisoners
to due process.
8. That behavior modification methods such as shock and drug therapy never
be administered unless freely chosen by a prisoner under no threat or
coercion.
9. That the use of capital punishment be abolished.
10. That all incarcerated defendants be guaranteed the right to trial
within sixty days.
11. That the constitutional independence between grand juries and prosecutors
be restored or alternate safeguards be provided in order to prevent prosecutors
from using grand juries for political purposes, harassment and the curtailment
of citizen rights and liberties.
12. That youth offenders be housed only with their peer group.
C. Living an Alternative
Some Brethren believe that Christians are especially called and uniquely
enabled to offer a response wholly different from that of the criminal
justice system. These members are encouraged to:
1. Actively seek relationships with offenders, and those in danger of
becoming offenders, in an effort to provide a constructive and supportive
influence.
2. Be open to accepting offenders into their communities, homes and businesses,
and to inviting judges and probation authorities to place accused or convicted
persons in their care rather than in prison.
3. Consider carefully whether it is in harmony with the teaching to overcome
evil with good to report wrongs done against themselves to police authorities.
4. Avoid employment or direct participation in the operation of the criminal
justice system, and urge others to consider their own participation in
light of New Testament teaching.
III. Implementation
To affirm and implement the goals of this statement, the
1975 Annual Conference:
1. Asks the General Board to make criminal justice reform and ministry
to offenders and to the victims of crimes a 1976-77 program priority with
appropriate staffing and funding. This would include providing continuing
motivation, guidance and assistance, and the use of a communications network.
2. Calls upon the church, especially districts, to initiate and develop
creative ministries and constructive action, and to mobilize for an intensive
effort in key areas where opportunity, resources, and need seem greatest.
Clyde R. Shallenberger, Chairman
S. Loren Bowman, General Secretary
Action of 1975 Annual Conference: The report was presented
by Clyde Shallenberger, Guy Wampler, Jr., chairman of the task force,
and other members of the committee. The report was adopted with a
number of changes and amendments which are incorporated in the above wording.
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See http://www.brethren.org/ac/ac_statements/75CriminalJustice.htm
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