Introduction
Prison life can look very different around the world. In the United States, crimes such as
committing murder would get someone a “max” sentencing such as the death penalty or life in
prison. However, in places such as Norway, the death penalty does not exist, and the “max”
sentencing is around twenty years. While the United States has some of the harshest prisons,
according to John Gramlich, from the Pew Research Center (2021). The United States has the
largest number of incarcerated people in the world, coming in at about 2.1 million people (about
the population of New Mexico). This brings up the issue with the United States justice system,
the United States focuses on punishment rather than rehabilitation, whereas Norway’s primary
objective is to rehabilitate its citizens to join society once again. This is why the United States
has such a high incarceration rate; they arrest people, the people serve their sentences, get
released, and are later incarcerated again.
I believe that Isaiah 1:16-17 is a good example of why rehabilitation instead of
punishment is a better choice for those who have been incarcerated, “Wash yourselves; make
yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to
do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s
cause.” (ESV). While, in theory, the way the United States uses punishment is meant to deter
people from committing crimes, this has been proven to not work. Therefore, as Isaiah 1:16-17
states, all people, but in this context, those who have been incarcerated must cleanse themselves
of their sins and not reoffend; Norway has nearly perfected this by creating prisons meant to prep
those incarcerated for rejoining society by “cleansing” them instead of punishing them for their
mistakes. Therefore, rather than prisons being a place to “clean up the streets,” prisons should be
a rehabilitative journey so that, ultimately, inmates might have a successful future outside of
prison and rejoin society.
Comparison
The New Asylums in America
An inside source from an Ohio state prison stated while being interviewed by Frontline
stated, “The prison does not exist to provide mental health treatment. The prison exists to provide
security and safety to the community. And so you have to be realistic.” (2005). This is the
mindset of those in charge at these prisons and jails. There are nearly 500,000 mentally ill people
in these prisons and jails (Frontline, 2005). This is ten times the amount of people in actual
mental health facilities. These prisons and jails are slowly becoming mental health facilities as
the mental health facilities shut down. According to Frontline (2005), most of the people in these
facilities commit petty crimes but have nowhere else to go and no one to help them on the
outside, meaning they are serving indefinitely most of the time. In the Ohio state prison shown
on Frontline (2005), these people are fed through slots in the doors and come out of their room
for a shower and for once-a-week group therapy. In this group therapy, they are kept in cages,
which serve as miniature cells. However, in these conditions, this leaves no room for
rehabilitation. These people receive their mandatory medications, go to group therapy sessions,
are released, but they are back again in a short amount of time because they do not know how to
reenter society. This could be because they are no longer taking their medications, but also
because these facilities are not setting them up for success on the outside. These people need
resources and a support system to be able to reintegrate back into society. While it is true that
some of these inmates are getting more help than they would if they were not in the prison, like
those with otherwise untreated mental illnesses, they still need to be counseled on how to survive
outside of the prison. This is the big aspect that Norway has that the United States is lacking.
While the Christian faith believes in paying for sins, it also believes in second chances.
However, I do not believe that the prisons in the United States are setting its inmates up for
second chances, these people tend to endlessly pay for their sins. Isaiah 61:1 states, “The Spirit
of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor;
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening
of the prison to those who are bound” (ESV). The main part of this verse is “to bind up the
brokenhearted,” meaning to give relief and comfort to those who are burdened and distressed.
This is a great way to think about how prisons “should” be. Prisons should be organized in a way
that when the inmates are released, a burden has been lifted off of them and they can hopefully
rejoin society. However, the United States prison system is lacking this aspect.
The Most Humane Prison in the World
In contrast to the United States’ approach to prisons, Norway has been dubbed to have the
most humane prisons in the world (NBC News, 2019). In these prisons, the focus is for the
prisoners to reintegrate back into society, but to also lead a successful life on the outside of the
prison. Kelly Kobe from NBC News states, “... new inmates are greeted the way I was, with a
handshake.” (NBC News, 2019). This can show the mindset in which the people of authority
have; this shows that the people of authority do not look down upon the inmates that are brought
in, rather, they are equals and can get along. When inmates are greeted in the United States, they
are cuffed and sometimes force is used upon entering the building. In addition, Kelly continues
to describe the prison as, “... a maximum-security prison that feels more like a college campus.”
(NBC News, 2019). When inmates show Kelly around, she is greeted to a cell block with a full,
open kitchen, a big screen TV, and a laundry room. In addition, the inmates all have a key to their
individual cells and are allowed to leave it locked or unlocked during the day. In this prison, the
inmates work a normal work week to receive training in the field of their choice, such as
mechanics, sound booth work, and graphic design. All inmates are treated equally in this prison,
no matter the crime in which they are in for. This is the way in which they are giving the inmates
the choice to better themselves. However, this prison is not cheap, coming in at about $93
thousand per inmate, which is about three times more than the United States, but it has been
proven to work in rehabilitation efforts. (NBC News, 2019). According to NBC News, only
about twenty percent of the convicted inmates reoffend within two years of release, compared to
the United States where around sixty percent of inmates reoffend within two years of release. In
addition, the death penalty and life sentences were banned in Norway in 1981.
However, the people of God are torn on this last bit. The Bible does state in Numbers
35:30-31, “If anyone kills a person, the murderer shall be put to death on the evidence of
witnesses. But no person shall be put to death on the testimony of one witness. Moreover, you
shall accept no ransom for the life of a murderer, who is guilt of death, but he shall be put to
death.” (ESV). So while the Bible does state that no person should murder or they shall be killed,
it also does state that the Lord will forgive our sins. 2 Samuel 12:13, “Then David said to
Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the Lord.’ Nathan replied, ‘The Lord has taken away your sin. You
are not going to die.” (ESV). The Lord does want His child to “pay their debt” but He also does
not want to see His children die. This is why the death penalty is such a hot debate amongst
Christians.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the United States and Norway have vastly different approaches as to how
they handle those who must be incarcerated. Rather than prisons being a place to “clean up the
streets,” prisons should be a rehabilitative journey so that, ultimately, inmates might have a
successful future outside of prison and rejoin society. The United States focuses on a punitive
system that focuses on punishment rather than rehabilitation, while Norway has a rehabilitative
system that focuses and rehabilitation and reducing recidivism rates. The psychological aspects
of these two countries also vastly differ, with Norway prioritizing rehabilitation and mental
health care and the United States often failing to provide adequate resources in these areas.
While the United States could learn a lot from Norway’s approach to criminal justice and
imprisonment, it is unlikely that major reforms will happen quickly.
References
Bonta, J., & Andrews, D. (2016). The Psychology of Criminal Conduct (6th ed.). Taylor &
Francis. https://libertyonline.vitalsource.com/books/9781317387404
Crossway Bibles. (2016). ESV: Study bible: English standard version.
Gramlich, J. (2021, August 18). America's incarceration rate falls to lowest level since 1995.
Pew Research Center. Retrieved February 16, 2023, from
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/08/16/americas-incarceration-rate-lowest-
since-1995/
The New Asylums (2005). Retrieved February 16, 2023, from
https://www.pbs.org/video/frontline-new-asylums/.
YouTube. (2019, September 8). Go inside one of the most humane prisons in the World | Sunday
Today. YouTube. Retrieved February 16, 2023, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=sCZt2YipiIs
