Ed Brayton is a journalist, commentator and speaker. He is the co-founder and president of 
Oklahoma is actually looking to build an explicitly Christian prison:
This tiny town near the Oklahoma-Kansas state line north of Enid may soon own the country's only all-Christian prison, with Christian administrators, employees, counselors and programs.The idea is backed by Wakita's leaders, has some support from state officials, and, its founders believe, is able to pass constitutional muster.
"If Chicken Little doesn't come to town, we'll be open in 16 months," said Bill Robinson, the founder of Corrections Concepts Inc., a Dallas nonprofit prison ministry that is spearheading the project.
They think they can get around the constitutional problem by making it voluntary:
Robinson, himself an ex-con and prison minister, said he had been working for years on the idea of an all-Christian prison, and he had invested $1.3 million so far on construction plans and other expenses.He said a lot of prisons have faith-based or Christian units, but he knows of none with an all-Christian staff.
"The staff, being all born-again believers, will see this as a mission," he said.
"I want people to understand what it's about. It's about changing criminals into citizens."
The prison would accept only men near the end of their sentences who volunteer to come into the prison and sign an agreement to participate.
They would work full time at private industries that operate inside the prison, get job training, and earn money.
The money would go to support their families, pay restitution to their victims, contribute to their own room and board, and produce a nest egg they can take when they leave prison.
Classes in literacy, General Educational Development requirements and life skills would be offered, and Wayland University, a Christian college in Plainview, Texas, has agreed to put a satellite campus in the prison.
"They don't have to go to church, or Bible study, but they have to participate in the curriculum, which is Christ-centered," Robinson said.
He possesses legal opinions that say that as a religious organization, the prison will be able to hire only people of like faith, he said.
If constitutional challenges arise, he said, the American Center for Law and Justice, a major Christian law firm, has agreed to represent the ministry for free.
"True public safety is to change prisoners into citizens," Robinson said.
The problem is that while a lot of the elements of this are a good idea, the receipt of them cannot be premised on a prisoner's agreement to undergo religious training. I think it's a great idea to have prisoners work while in prison to earn money, pay restitution and support their families. It may also help give them a skill and a head start when they get out of prison. That's certainly preferably to merely warehousing someone and then letting them out with little hope of integrating into society.
But those kinds of programs are something that most inmates simply don't get in prison and they are a significant benefit to them. And you cannot condition the receipt of such a benefit on whether someone agrees to undergo religious indoctrination.
Imagine an analogous scenario where the government decides that religion makes for better people so they want to encourage high school students to go to church. So they set up a faith-based school next to the public school, privately run but government-funded, and those who go there get rides to school in a limousine instead of a bus and they get four-star meals rather than the usual school lunches.
The arguments over whether such a system would be effective in reducing recidivism are irrelevant. There are a thousand ideas for how the government might reduce crime. Compulsory brainwashing might well reduce the incidence of crime too, but that doesn't mean the government can constitutionally do that.
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Chuck Colson would have much to answer for if the GOD of his devising actually existed.
While I'm totally opposed to the idea it might be fun, in a schadenfreude sortaway to watch these assholes dance in front of the camera when a number of their model inmateoverts go on the lam from their private sector jobs.
Posted by: democommie | November 12, 2009 9:22 AM
Interesting point: inmates at the end of their sentence. So, if the brainwashing doesn't take hold, they can always blame the previous environment for the recividism.
Posted by: Pineyman | November 12, 2009 9:31 AM
Now when they manage to reduce recindivism rates by the use of these work programs and a higher spending per-prisoner on rehabilitation, I have to put up with all the wingnuts online screaming that this proves only Christians are capable of being good people.
This is going to cost a fortune. There's a reason prisons cram inmates in like sardines: Training and rehabilitation costs money, as does keeping the prisoners in something resembling comfort.
Posted by: Suricou Raven | November 12, 2009 9:32 AM
I think the framework of the debate on how people can go from living irresponsible lives to one where they become contributors needs to focus on the marginal differences between all approaches rather than focusing on nominal successes as we are constantly bombarded with now (at least in the public square, probably not in the social sciences). The control group would be those people who do not attribute their transformation to any sort of conversion event or developing into a strongly committed member to any one group, whether it be religious, allowing the military to mold you, or even becoming a fraternity member.
I like to call the process the people in the control group who successfully navigate this transformational process go through, "growing up" (snark intended). I also suspect the efficacy of successfully growing up is as powerful, if not more so, than that taken by those who go through a transformation. Therefore we should encourage more people to grow up rather than rely on some transformative event like conversion or becoming a zealous ideologue.
I would concede that those who go through such a transformation successfully most likely needed that sort of environment given they were probably too emotionally immature to grow up on their own (or were in an environment with heavy peer pressure not to grow up, e.g., fundie/evangelical communities, poor areas with high crime rates, upper middle class to rich kids were Daddy and Mummie make little demands on Junior). My rebuttal to that is let's teach them skills to develop emotionally rather than relying on conversion events which all come with a host of baggage that is costly to society, e.g., fundies, Bush-like frat boys, and such.
My own observation is that for those brought up in an environment where there's strong peer pressure to not grow up, the military or a secular university are wonderful places that provide a paradigm where growing up is possible while remaining cognizant that the military's transformation process can be every bit as powerful as a bunch of Pentecostals at a revival meeting or having Daddy's friends buy you a Major League baseball team.
Posted by: Michael Heath | November 12, 2009 9:40 AM
S. Raven says “…I have to put up with all the wingnuts online screaming that this proves only Christians are capable of being good people.”
Point out to them that most, if not all, of those prisoners are, in fact, Christians.
Posted by: jls | November 12, 2009 9:54 AM
This could help the problem of overcrowding in our prison system. Send 'em to the Christian prison, have 'em get a couple of Hail Marys for penance, and send 'em home.
And that's a good analysis, Ed. It doesn't matter how shiny the Christian prison may be - it is still unconstitutional. Maybe if it was completely non denominational it would fly, but Corrections Concepts Inc wouldn't go for that anyway.
Posted by: Gingerbaker | November 12, 2009 10:02 AM
And I wonder whether Corrections Concepts Inc has ever done the truly Christian thing - to lobby and offer substantial donations to improve the opportunities of all prisoners in the American penal system so they too could enjoy the rehabilitation advantages Corrections Concepts Inc wants for Christian prisoners.
Or do they simply see this as a opportunity to proselytize and make money doing it, in what just happens to be the fastest growing employment sector of the US economy - private prison development.
Posted by: Gingerbaker | November 12, 2009 10:10 AM
As a researcher, I know that it's very complicated to use inmates for research (special IRB approval and lots of hoop-jumping) becasue they are considered an at-risk population. That is, they can be easily convinced to enroll in programs that may provide benefits within the context of incarceration but which would otherwise pose a risk to them. Ethically, we understand that we must not manipulate them and cannot take advantage of their situation. I imagine that the proposed prison would face the same kinds of ethical dilemmas - that is, if they care about ethical dilemmas.
Presumably, the prison would be a state-contractor, no? Can states hire religious organizations? Can state contract holders discriminate based on religious affiliation?
Posted by: Sarah | November 12, 2009 10:14 AM
Way to waste some money on something that will be shut down almost instantly. Awesome work, dude.
Posted by: FishyFred | November 12, 2009 10:23 AM
Ed:
Wasn't this KKKristian KKKalaboose concept what got that Judge in PA in hot water recently?
Posted by: democommie | November 12, 2009 10:29 AM
I think faith-based prisons are a great idea. Imagine how awesome a job the Rastafarians would do.
Posted by: ThriceGreatMe | November 12, 2009 10:32 AM
We shouldn't spend tax money to subsidize special privileges for certain prisoners based on their religion. Instead, we should use that money to give these programs to prisoners in general, regardless of their religion.
Posted by: catgirl | November 12, 2009 10:40 AM
The proposal is only from the tiny town and is not a s
State government initiative. State prisoners could not be housed there. The Oklahoma Constitution does not allow state funds to be spent for any activity that involves religion. The prison would depend upon other states sending their convicts there. Privately operated prisons in Oklahoma already take prisoners from other states.
Posted by: vhutchson | November 12, 2009 10:41 AM
This is a folow up to my earlier post. Too bad some Oklahoma legislators (e.g., Silly Sally Kern) sometimes try to ignore this, but attempts to do so will result in court action:
FROM OKLAHOMA CONSTITUTION:
“Section II-5: Public money or property - Use for sectarian purposes.
No public money or property shall ever be appropriated, applied, donated, or used, directly or indirectly, for the use, benefit, or support of any sect, church, denomination, or system of religion, or for the use, benefit, or support of any priest, preacher, minister, or other religious teacher or dignitary, or sectarian institution as such.”
Posted by: vhutchison | November 12, 2009 10:47 AM
A Xtian prison.
Xtians believe the buyBull is the word of g0d.
the buyBull is literally true and must be followed.
If any of the 10 suggestions are violated the person is to be stoned.
Wow...it will be like the roach motel...they all go in but none come out!!!!
Posted by: CybrgnX | November 12, 2009 11:01 AM
Slightly OT, but close enough to give me an excuse to mention that an incarcerated acquaintance of mine has claimed, successfully, despite an Italian last name, to be Jewish because the kosher food is better than the normal prison slop.
Posted by: CJColucci | November 12, 2009 11:23 AM
Except for the whole "explicitly Christian" bit, this sounds like such a good idea...
Posted by: Gretchen | November 12, 2009 11:50 AM
If the curriculum wasn't "Christ-centered", this could be a good idea. Provided you don't have to be a Christian to be part of the program, of course. And that if you're not, you don't get a cut-rate program.
Posted by: Christophe Thill | November 12, 2009 11:55 AM
A special prison just for Christians?
Cool.
But is it going to be big enough to (ware)house all those Christians in Oklahoma?
Posted by: Pierce R. Butler | November 12, 2009 12:46 PM
I imagine this plan will be as magnificent a success as church-run teen programs encouraging them to abstain from sex until marriage.
Posted by: CHV | November 12, 2009 1:43 PM
For constitutional purposes, local governments (cities, towns, counties, villages, fire districts, etc.) are part of the relevant state government.
If something would be unconstitutional for the government of Oklahoma--which it would be, under both that clause and under the first and fourteenth amendments to the U.S. constitution--it's unconstitutional for any local government within the state.
Posted by: Vicki | November 12, 2009 3:03 PM
i don't see the problem with this. i support locking people up for being fundamentalists, christian or otherwise, but maybe it is safest to just look them up until we can figure out which type they are.
.....oh, maybe i should have read it first.
Posted by: shane | November 12, 2009 3:04 PM
What kind of Christins would build such a wimpy prison?
Shouldn't it be built to punish, preferably based on Dante's Inferno?
At least then it could be run free of charge while the profits would come from opening it as a theme park for the public.
Posted by: Rob Jase | November 12, 2009 3:39 PM
"Point out to them that most, if not all, of those prisoners are, in fact, Christians."
You should know that doesn't work. They'll just claim that those arn't 'real' christians, because real christians would never end up in jail - martyrs excepted, of course.
Posted by: Suricou Raven | November 12, 2009 3:54 PM
When I read this, I thought to myself "Now, who on earth are they getting legal advice from?"
Then I saw this...
...which of course explains everything.
So what do you think, Ed? Does the ACLJ really believes this is constitutional, or are they misleading these poor fools into becoming another long shot test case? I couldn't help but notice that while the ACLJ says they will represent them for free, they don't say anything about paying the plaintiffs' legal fees if they lose.
Posted by: DaveL | November 12, 2009 4:01 PM
I actually don't think this is such a bad idea, and I say this as a non-Christian. But no way in hell should it be government funded. The Christian megachurches have enough cash lying around that they could fund this project themselves.
Posted by: Brandon | November 12, 2009 4:25 PM
The sad part is that this worthwhile proposition will miss a lot of inmates who really need it. That’s why I’m hereby announcing my intention to build a similar prison for African Americans. That way every deserving person can enjoy the same benefits, regardless of their religious affiliation. It will not be required that inmates be African American to participate. But, instruction in Black Power and participation in our rallies are a mandatory parts of our rehabilitation process. If you’d like to help, please visit our web site at www.killwhitey.org to donate.
Posted by: Abby Normal | November 12, 2009 4:26 PM
The problem is that while a lot of the elements of this are a good idea, the receipt of them cannot be premised on a prisoner's agreement to undergo religious training.
And if they had good rehab policies, and competent people to administer them, there'd be no need for any religious test, for either the inmates or the workers.
And if the people hawking this idea really cared about doing the right thing, they'd do it without regard to anyne's professed religion.
This is nothing more than a huge PR campaign to make a certain strain of Christianity look good, and get the taxpayers to foot part of the bill.
Posted by: Raging bee | November 12, 2009 5:13 PM
Aside from the being religion-based bit, I see another problem with this idea. Which denomination(s) of Christian can the supposed staff be of? Would Catholic, Baptist, Mormon, Prosperity Gospel, YEC, OEC, etc. -believing staff be allowed?
Posted by: Monimonika | November 12, 2009 5:23 PM
"So what do you think, Ed? Does the ACLJ really believes this is constitutional, or are they misleading these poor fools into becoming another long shot test case?"
A little of both, I think.
I supect that the ACLJ knows perfectly well that no court is likely to consider this constitutional, but that they also believe their authority overrules that of any court - those places are all run by activist judges anyway, their minds poisoned by anti-christian liberal propaganda. Thus the ACLJ believes that it is their duty, as Americans and as Christians, to defy these court rulings whenever possible.
Posted by: Suricou Raven | November 12, 2009 5:31 PM
Didn't they try this in Florida when one of the Bush boys was governor? Wasn't it found to be unconstitutional there? Can these people not learn?
In my opinion real christians would join with anyone who supports these concepts, and would be pushing for federal, state, and local government to provide these things to all prisoners without the mandatory religious education as a simple matter of it being good public policy and the way a civilized nation treats its people.
If people from the community want to come in and organize discussion groups or classes on anything that does not encourage anti-social behavior that's great. We know people do better when they come out with connections to the community. So let's let the secular humanists, the gardeners, the fantasy baseball people, the christians, the knitters and anyone else not fostering anti-social behavior
provide recreation and connections to the community.
Posted by: katydid13 | November 12, 2009 5:49 PM
I don't get it. Where are they going to get all the Christians prisoners? Vox Day says that all prisoners are atheists, and he's got a book and everything.
Posted by: BaldApe | November 12, 2009 6:28 PM
Let me guess. Inmates are implicitly trained to trade on-demand regurgitation of Christian dogma, piety and self-righteous posing for privilege, better living conditions, and ultimately, freedom.
Great, take criminally inclined youths who are always looking for a shortcut and angle and teach them a new scam. How to preach and pose as righteous Christians for fun, profit, power. Sure, that will be good for America. What the world really need is more loud mouthed, overdressed, media-savvy, anti-intellectual, mind-fucking, Bible-thumping, parasites. And state funded boot camps that manufacture them by the score.
Oh ... Joy.
Posted by: Art | November 12, 2009 6:56 PM
The big message that will come out of the ACLJ and other "cristian" legal groups will be: Send us lots and lots of money so we can fight these godless atheists. They will make money convincing their sheep that the money they send in will actually go to the prison program.
Posted by: wrpd | November 12, 2009 7:02 PM
BaldApe: Plus he's got that awesome haircut and a flaming sword and he hit a girl that one time. These three things alone make up for his almost total absence of empathy, compassion or any of the other marks of, well, the good side of humanity.
Posted by: Modusoperandi | November 12, 2009 7:03 PM
I agree this is a bad idea
Posted by: king of Ireland | November 12, 2009 8:20 PM
"If Chicken Little doesn't come to town..."?!?!?
Well, no chicken but how about an elephant coming to Enid?
"Bill and Denna Carpenter of Enid said they were driving home from church on U.S. Highway 81 when their vehicle sideswiped the elephant, which had escaped from the Family Fun Circus."
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jIAS4o-pUikoXeINHaeHHAuSY2lAD9BQB2181
Posted by: Gerry L | November 12, 2009 10:47 PM
For some reason Superjail sprung into my head when I read that. Can't imagine why.
Posted by: JThompson | November 13, 2009 12:50 AM
Lovely -- the Prosperity Gospel crowd has found a new scam with which to line their pockets. Haven't charter schools, creationism, and abstinence programs been lucrative enough?
Bill Robinson's "Dallas nonprofit prison ministry"? Give me a break. I'll bet old Bill ain't been missing too many meals.
And as a bonus, this unconstitutional boondoggle will also enrich the ACLJ.
WWJD? Not this Billy Sunday crap, I guarantee you.
Posted by: Leigh Williams | November 13, 2009 2:52 AM
Hi Leigh! - I'm guessing these 'prosperity prisons' will run under the most penny-pinching regime as they can get away with. All those hard-earned tax dollars will be fed into the coffers of Corrections Concepts Inc. to keep their shareholders and owners as rich as Croesus.
And in the prison? Think 'Oliver Twist' meets 'Oz'. - DJ
Posted by: DingoJack | November 13, 2009 3:40 AM
Here's what's up with this.
It's going to be used as a recruiting channel for religious extremists, and overt religious militants.
Keyword search: "Dominionists." " Joel's Army."
Go on Talk2Action.org and read all the stuff by Bruce Wilson.
See also La Familia Michoacan, a notoriously violent drug cartel (beheadings of police included) that recruits its low-level members (the ones who do unsavory things with their own hands) from drug rehab centers.
La Familia's leader is a devotee of the "muscular Christianity" of James Eldredge, formerly a high muckymuck at Dobson's Focus on the Family. (Odd irony that, La Familia's focus on Eldredge!)
See also the writings of Chuck Colson, Watergate convict who turned religious extremist in prison and has gone on to proselytize.
Beware.
This is truly dangerous business.
These people have to be stopped.
Posted by: g347 | November 14, 2009 12:58 AM
I should make the point a little more clear about La Familia.
The population of drug users they are recruiting from are basically losers who aren't very smart. People in that population also tend toward "concrete thinking," a mindset that is highly compatible with fundamentalism. When they get over their substance problem, it is often by becoming a zealot for whatever it is that is keeping them away from drugs.
Thus in short they are the perfect candidates for becoming dull-witted brutal thugs in the cartel. And the cartel's internal rules forbidding its own members from using the drugs they produce, smuggle, and sell, produces a culture of abstinence that helps them stay clean even as they handle the stuff in their "jobs."
Translate to the US:
Most low-level criminals are below-average intelligence and also tend toward concrete thinking. They have a propensity toward violence, which is often what got them sent to the pokey in the first place. Now you rehabilitate them and give them self-esteem (gosh that sounds downright liberal!) in the context of a totalistic belief system. The output of that is a zealot with a higher than average inclination to use violence.
Now connect the dots with the "Joel's Army" movement and what have you got?
See?
Those of us who spend our time studying these extremist groups, and in some cases helping prosecute their criminal acts, are highly alarmed about the proselytizing by extreme sects that already goes on in prisons. The idea of creating an entire prison that is run under that paradigm, is to put it mildly, terrifying.
If you doubt me for one second here, you need to do the background reading and you will see why this has got to be stopped.
Posted by: g347 | November 14, 2009 1:13 AM
pls visit
Posted by: christministries | November 15, 2009 5:55 AM
christministries:
pls go fuck yourself.
Posted by: democommie | November 15, 2009 9:27 AM
G347: I'm a layperson, so would you list some sources that would be a good starting point for someone like me?
Thanks.
Retard proselytizer @43: Fuck off, you sick peace of shit, for preying on people who are completely vulnerable. I have more respect for the TX "justice" system than I have for you vampires.
Posted by: Aquaria | November 15, 2009 11:19 PM
"I think it's a great idea to have prisoners work while in prison to earn money, pay restitution and support their families."
It's a terrible idea - so terrible that various international treaties specifically ban trade in goods made by prison labour.
In systems like this, the prison typically contracts out labour, meaning that it obliges itself to supply a certain amount of man-hours. This means that the system puts pressure on the prisoners to work. Now prisoners simply are not free agents (and rightly so), so you wind up with the usual problems of slave labour. The supplier (the prison) has a source of free labour so it set its price low, meaning that regular unskilled labourers can't compete. If the price is higher (ie: reasonable), then corruption swiftly becomes endemic. Who's going to whistle-blow?
If the goal is paying restitution, then holding a regular job is a far better way to go about it.
Here in Oz, prisoners do work, but afaik it's purely rehabilitative and a way of managing the inmates (keeps 'em out of trouble). It's explicitly not punitive. A fine line. but an important one.
Posted by: Paul Murray | November 16, 2009 6:57 PM
Paul Murray:
But, but, that could never happen here in AmeriKKKa where the prisons are run by career civil servants with advanced degrees in psychology, sociology and penology; a nation where the few who must be incarcerated are watched over by a well paid and caring cadre of corrections officers. That movie, "Shawshank Redemption"--stuff like that could NEVER happen here!
Posted by: democommie | November 17, 2009 7:42 AM
Paul - "Here in OZ", Oswald Correctional Facility? :)
Demo - "penology"? The measurement of animal pens, maybe the study of writing instruments, or perhaps the measurement of penises? I'm not sure.
Seriously, is there really an academic field of study into prisons and their populations, where is it offered? - DJ
Posted by: DingoJack | November 17, 2009 9:15 AM
DJ, Penology is a real field of study, concerned with the housing and treatment of criminal prisoners. It's offered as a specialization at several universities with Criminal Justice programs. I only know this because I accidentally enrolled in one in the hopes of getting to measure some penises. Boy was I surprised and disappointed.
Posted by: Abby Normal | November 17, 2009 9:26 AM