With the growth of the drug epidemic in society and placing a greater focus on the
inner city it is necessary to step back and reevaluate the reasons and the solutions
outside of mass incarceration. For many years there has been a growing concern that
the privatization of the prison system in the 1980s created a need to fill the cells in
order to generate revenue. During this same period of time the United States under
President Ronald Reagan began the war on drugs, which ultimately resulted in an
increase in the number of people incarcerated for drug convictions (Alexander 2012,
61). Unfortunately, the impact of the war on drugs failed to distinguish between minor
drug offenders guilty of possession and higher-level drug dealers and distributers. As
a result, the jail terms ascribed to offenders have been disproportionate to the crime
at a great cost to states and federal government with little improvement in the drug
epidemic.
j j j j j j j j j j The purpose for punishing individuals for crimes committed is geared towards
the greater good and welfare of other citizens (McQuilkin & Copan 2014, 129).
However due to the subjectivity and the element of human inconsistency the
punishment often lack in rehabilitation but rather becomes retributive in nature. This
the lack of rehabilitation creates a perpetual cycle of imprisonment for many due to
the lack of opportunities that exist once released. j Inevitably this results in additional
criminal activity geared toward survival as a result of limited job resources for felons.
For this reason, the church needs to take a greater role within the court system to
develop alternative methods aimed towards rehabilitation allowing those convicted
to become a respectable citizen of society.
j j j j j j j j j j The church must become an advocate for change in the penial system. Christ
instructed the church to serve the community they are a part of in order to develop
disciples and grow the kingdom. If the church would collaborate with the judicial and
legislative branches of government they could advocate to create spiritual based
rehabilitation programs that offer alternatives to imprisonment. On average many of
the minor drug offenses are a result from a sense of hopelessness and seeking a way
to either escape or to survive by using it as a revenue source.
If the church created community-based job programs and moved the church outside
the four walls they would have feet on the ground in the community to offer people
alternatives. The church has resources that would allow first-time offenders an
opportunity to avoid jail time by training them to pursue a trade. j The church can also
become an employment stream by looking to the congregation for business owners
and professionals that seek not to judge individuals for past mistakes but offer them
an opportunity to become reformed citizens. If citizens can go to prison and learn a
trade to work behind the prison walls for perks, how more incline will they be to work
with the local churches to learn a trade and employment for the perk of not being
imprisoned.
j j j j j j j j j j References
Alexander, Michelle. The New Jim Crow : Mass Incarceration in the Age of
Colorblindness. New York: The New Press, 2012.
Robertson McQuilkin and Paul Copan, An instruction to Biblical Ethics: “Walking in the
Way of Wisdom”, Downers, Il, InterVarsity Press, 2014.
