It’s Sunday, so let’s ask some churches what they think of private prisons.
“The shipping of fathers and mothers to private prisons in far-flung
states is guaranteeing a new generation of frightened, angry,
disenfranchised children, who are future inmates,” she said, adding that
“families who try to visit loved ones are treated as suspects in many
prisons. The children cannot understand the lack of warmth and hospitality
in the visiting rooms.”The Episcopal Church’s General Convention is on record in opposition to
private prisons.
Resolution Calling for the Abolition of For-Profit Private Prisons
Approved by the 215th General Assembly (2003)
Since the goal of for-profit private prisons is earning a profit for
their shareholders, there is a basic and fundamental conflict with the
concept of rehabilitation as the ultimate goal of the prison system.
We believe that this is a glaring and significant flaw in our justice
system and that for-profit private prisons should be abolished.
Wardens from Wall Street: Prison Privatization
Second in a series of six pastoral statements by Catholic Bishops of the South on the Criminal Justice process: a gospel response.
“We bishops question whether private, for-profit corporations can
effectively run prisons. The profit motive may lead to reduced efforts
to change behaviors, treat substance abuse, and offer skills necessary
for reintegration into the community.” U.S. Catholic Bishops statement
“Responsibility, Rehabilitation, and Restoration: A Catholic Perspective
on Crime and Criminal Justice,” November 2000.
-jsq