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As we enter into this season of celebrating His resurrection and spring, which gives us an awesome display of new birth, I am writing a plea to Christians and to all people. Please open your eyes and hearts to a growing destruction that keeps getting shoved into the background! The prison population in the U.S. now exceeds 2.1 MILLION people! The majority are first time drug offenders. It is not the fact they are incarcerated that disturbs me. The alarming thing is the ridiculous sentences they are serving. Many of them went in as young men and women and will be there the majority of their life, if not the rest of it. Yes, on a non-violent first time offence! Many of you have the mistaken idea that they only serve a small portion of that time. Wrong! They will serve 85% of the 10, 25, and 30+ years! These are people. People who are someone's son or daughter, someone's mom or dad, someone's husband or wife! The young men and women who have received these harsh sentences will not know what it is like to fall in love, or have children and watch them grow. Too many of our government officials would have you believe they have done you a favor by keeping these drug offenders off the streets. (These men and women are not drug kingpins!) They would have you believe these people are being rehabilitated. That is not true! There are no drug rehab programs available in many prisons. In fact, they are so understaffed, it is impossible to handle the bare necessities. At this point in time, ALL U.S. prisons are overcrowded and under staffed! The rumors about the luxury of prison life sicken me! There are no big-screen TVs in any prisons I am aware of. Most of the TV rooms have been converted to cells or rooms to house the prisoners. The cost of a phone call to the family averages 80 cents a minute in state prisons, and 30 cents a minute in federal prisons. It is the families who must pay this. The prisoners work for pennies an hour; the average monthly pay for a 40 hr week is about $20.00 a month. Anything the inmate needs must be purchased by them. Stamps, paper, envelopes, many toiletries, as well as a radio that must be purchased in order to hear the audio of the TV are the responsibility of the inmate. The commissary is not a discount store. For instance, Ramón noodles are 50 cents each. We, the tax payers are the ones paying to house these people for the large portion of their lives, while the families often need assistance from the government for food and medical assistance. The saddest thing to me is that when they are finally released, the only friends and family many of them will have are in prison. The majority of spouses give up after two years. Parents die, and life has gone on and left them behind. They call this becoming "institutionalized.". The prisons do anything but encourage the families to visit. They make it as hard as they can on you to visit, treating you like a criminal because of association. So, many just can't endure it anymore. The prisoners are often placed too far away for family to visit regularly, even though there are prisons closer to the home of the family. So, after a time, the visits become less frequent, and soon cease. Two years is about the time this happens. What this does to the person in prison is heartbreaking! They wait for mail, (which is the highlight of the day for the incarcerated) that no longer comes. They wait for the visitor who doesn't show up. They become depressed, hating themselves, knowing all the while that to show weakness or vulnerability in prison is dangerous. And our governor is concerned about them playing video games!? Video games, while not allowed in federal prisons, remain to me the least of our prison problem! The true problem is, our system gives child molesters, sex offenders, and many other violent offenders a second third and fourth chance. While first time non-violent drug offenders receive no second chance at life. For many, it is just over. Yes, I am sad to say some would return to the drugs, but there are plenty who wouldn't. Unfortunately, we may never know unless we speak out on this injustice. Our war on drugs has failed. One out of every 36 Americans are incarcerated or on parole. If it hasn't affected you yet, IT WILL. I am one of many who travel hundreds of miles to see the man I love. Today is the first time I have seen my husband, Mickey, troubled. Until now, he has maintained a determination to be content. He knows his wrong, and has made the best of it. Today, the Federal Bureau of Prisons has determined that a chaplain must be present at all religious services. Because of major financial cutbacks, they have cut back hours allowed for the chaplains. Church services have been cut back to once a month for Assembly of God services, and once a month for Baptist services. My husband never missed either of the services that were until now; once a week and two hours long. They also have been reduced to one hour instead of two. If we don't speak out against this, I believe Christian services may cease to exist in the prisons! As we celebrate God's mercy and love for us this season, please remember the many scriptures about the mercy we are to have for others. Please let your representatives and congregations know you don't want to spend your tax dollars housing men and women for so many years of their life, when, if given the chance, they would be productive citizens. Above all, let them know Christian services are Not an option for budget cuts! You may say, as I once did, "They got what they deserved.!" Every day, I am very thankful for JESUS, for paying the debt I owed. If we all got what we deserved, --- well, I guess we'd all be prisoners for eternity. The first time I went to see my husband in prison, I was overwhelmed by the razor wire, the cold attitude of the guards, and the amount of people and families standing in line to see their loved ones. On that day, a particular scene was burned into my mind that plays constantly! Two young black boys, around 4 and 6 years old, stretching as far as they can to reach the tall counter to put their belts and shoes there to go through the scanner. They were so excited! They said, "We're going to see our daddy!" to the officer. He didn't respond;.he just stood there looking at them as if he were made out of stone. We were escorted over to the prison, and I was walking behind them. As we entered the visiting area, a strong handsome black man fell to his knees and, tears streaming down his face, he grabbed those boys and hugged them ever so tightly! My visit was hard, as it always is the first time. The little boys had to leave before me. The mom had to pry the youngest boy from his dad, and he's crying, "I don't want to leave my daddy!" The mom is trying not to cry, but is failing at the effort, the dad is being strong for them and talks his son into going with his mom. They leave. He waves until they are gone, then, this strong, handsome man goes to stand in line to be searched and return to the compound. He is quiet, and so sad! He looked -- so whipped! Every time I think about I cry! I don't know anything about that family, what the man did do be in there, but I guess it is the saddest thing I have ever seen! I don't even know why I am telling you this. I guess because people think I need to accept that this is just the way it is, and I need to realize it is too big for me to fight. They want me to get on with life, I guess. But that scene playing in my mind won't let me accept that whole families are being destroyed! I felt guilty that my tears were not for my husband and I, but for strangers. To my surprise, my wonderful husband told me he too felt the same! he misses me and his family, but for the men who have young children, he cries with me. We know that even after he is released, prison will be in our lives. We've seen too much sadness, too many forgotten men, too much extreme cruelty, and too much injustice to ever just walk away. I don't know how God can use me in this struggle, but whatever it is, I am willing. |
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