The deadline for the 2023 contest has now passed. Winners will be announced in late summer.
Essays are judged on the depth of their content, mastery of the topic and the skill with which they are written.

Bethany A. Crist
Greenbrier, Tennessee
Essay title: “Freedom in Both Life and Death”
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In her essay titled “Freedom in Both Life and Death,” Bethany reviewed the First Amendment protections and the standards of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, applying them to recent cases to illustrate how prisoners do not lose their right to religious exercise absent a compelling governmental interest.
“Religion is important for people both in life and in death, so giving prisoners the peace they need at the end of their life is a basic freedom that I believe the Founding Fathers would have understood. … The United States has worked hard to ensure our rights are protected. If our nation has fought and died for us to live with our rights, why should we not let prisoners die with their rights as well?”

Samantha Podnar
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Essay title: “Defending the Condemned”

Caleb Asher McWhorter
Dawsonville, Georgia
Essay Title: “The Transition Between the Living and the Dead”






