Let’s Care For Our Brothers And Sisters Behind Bars

From Hawaii-

We, as members of the faith community, write to express our strong support and compassion for all members of our communities across Hawaii Nei during these uncertain times.

The novel coronavirus – COVID-19 — is a serious public health crisis that requires everyone’s kokua if we are to paddle our canoe forward through these rocky shoals.

We express our concern for our brothers and sisters who are living and working in Hawaii’s jails and prisons.

Dr. Pablo Stewart is a licensed clinician who trains psychiatric residents at John A. Burns School of Medicine to provide psychiatric care to people detained at Oahu Community Correctional Center.

His deep concerns were articulated in an April 8 letter to the Hawaii Correctional Oversight Commission about what he has observed working at OCCC four times a week.

More here-

https://www.civilbeat.org/2020/05/lets-care-for-our-brothers-and-sisters-behind-bars/

Church of England praises temporary release for prisoners

From Premier-

An Anglican Bishop has said the government's decision to give more working releases for prison inmates will have a positive impact on society.

Release on temporary license (ROTL) is a system which gives prisoners the opportunity to spend time in the community for short periods, normally towards the end of their sentence.

Rules on ROTL schemes are being relaxed, to allow more inmates to work and train while serving their sentences, with the hope of boosting their future job prospects and preparing offenders for life outside of prison.

The decision to ease the rules on day and overnight release is part of a government effort to reduce re-offending, which is estimated to cost society £15bn a year.

The Bishops' Advisor for Prisons and Penal Affairs, Reverend Paul Cowley believes these work placements are vital for rehabilitation.

More here-

https://www.premier.org.uk/News/UK/Church-of-England-praises-temporary-release-for-prisoners

Two of the Fairbanks Four talk about life after prison

From Alaska-

It’s been a year of beauty and sorrow for two members of the Fairbanks Four, who spoke Sunday at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church during a “Service of Thanksgiving” marking the one-year anniversary of their release from prison.

“So many beautiful things have happened,” George Frese said before about 45 people in the church sanctuary. “Oprah Winfrey says they are whispers from God, right?”

Frese and fellow speaker Eugene Vent spent most of their adult lives behind bars after juries convicted them — along with Marvin Roberts and Kevin Pease — of the murder of John Hartman, a teenage boy who was brutally beaten, sexually assaulted and left to die on a Fairbanks city street Oct. 11, 1997. 

More here-

http://www.newsminer.com/fairbanks_four/two-of-the-fairbanks-four-talk-about-life-after-prison/article_315ba0fc-c5c3-11e6-bcbf-8fbb2e4f6c14.html

Voice Buffalo rallies for prison reform

From Buffalo-

Before any of the faith leaders gathered in front of the Erie County Courthouse spoke out about prison reform, they bowed their heads for a prayer. Signs sat by their sides as they closed their eyes, clasped their hands.

Rev. Matt Lincoln, the director of Trinity Episcopal Church, led the invocation.

“Help us to find new ways to uphold justice, to find ways not to tolerate violence against anyone,” he said before the group. “The loss of justice for anyone is a threat to justice for everyone, as Dr. King said.”

Voice Buffalo, an organization comprising 60 faith communities, held its revival rally on Tuesday evening to challenge Erie County officials to reduce its inmate population by 50 percent. Dozens of people crowded onto the courthouse steps, wielding poster boards bearing the names of area religious groups. Some had to stand off to the side as there was not enough room for all.

More here-

http://www.buffalonews.com/city-region/erie-county/voice-buffalo-rallies-for-prison-reform-20160614

St. Stephen’s service focuses on jobs not jail

From Massachusetts -

Jobs, not jails. That’s the focus of the Justice Reinvestment Act in Massachusetts and elsewhere. And Sunday, one of the program’s co-founders, Mass. state Rep. Byron Rushing, visited St. Stephen’s Memorial Episcopal Church to talk about that, and other things.

Rushing, the House majority whip, spoke both at Sunday’s service and then again at the Soul Celebration afterward.

While his district includes parts of Boston, Rushing, an Episcopal layman, said that “in our baptism, we as Christians all inherited a constituency.

“That’s a huge group,” he said, “not just those close to us. You and I are familiar with the people in our community, but we must also include the wounded and unwounded as well as the included and the outcast. We must seek Christ in all persons.”

More here-

http://www.itemlive.com/news/st-stephen-s-service-focuses-on-jobs-not-jail/article_3845deda-ec91-11e4-99e7-23ab85c6af77.html

Episcopal delegates unanimously approve resolution pressing for reforms in Alabama, Florida prisons

From Central Gulf Coast-

Delegates to the 44th Annual Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast approved a resolution Friday to call upon state officials in Alabama and Florida to end inmate abuse in prisons.

The vote was unanimous, said Wayne Verry, a delegate from St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Foley, who introduced the resolution. The convention is being held Feb. 19-21 at Trinity Episcopal Church in midtown Mobile.

The resolution calls upon Gov. Robert Bentley, the attorney general, the commissioner of the Department of Corrections, and leaders of both houses of the Legislature in Alabama and Florida to "continue to take necessary actions to end all forms of abuse in prisons, and to uphold the fundamental dignity of every human being." It also urges other Episcopal diocese to take similar action.

More here-

http://www.al.com/living/index.ssf/2015/02/episcopal_delegates_unanimousl.html