The Orlando Sun-Sentinel reports on tomorrow's conversion of the Glades Correctional Institution to an entirely faith-based prison program. Florida is apparently the only state with whole prisons devoted to "faith and character". Inmates were given a choice of joining the nondenominational program or not, and a few other church-state safeguards have been put in place, but there are still concerns that should be monitored.
The Florida programs depend on volunteers and there is no cost to the state. State employees are not allowed to teach the faith programs, a rule intended to guard against religious coercion by the government, Glades Warden Robert Shannon said.
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"When prisons start linking where inmates live to religious programs, that's where serious constitutional issues arise," said Alex Luchenitser, an Americans United attorney. "The question is, 'Are inmates being given incentives to enroll in a prison with a religious environment?'"
The argument of those who would like to turn state-run prisons over to religious ministries is simple: it works, they say, producing lower recidivism rates and better behavior among the incarcerated. But that is still a highly debatable point. In the case of Glades, for example, inmates have to not only have enough initiative to opt into the program, they must be accepted through a process that weeds out those with disciplinary problems. If they get the pick of the inmates most likely to succeed, why wouldn't programs like this have better outcomes?
