Inmate programs raise questions
Some see official boost to religion
RICHMOND, Texas -- Melvin Cross, a convicted murderer, leans forward on the rough wool blanket that covers his cot and smiles as he thumbs through Christmas photos of his wife and son. ''I've made a drastic change," said Cross, 34, who described the fatal shooting that landed him in prison as ''a business deal gone bad."
Now, instead of crime, Cross said he has given himself to Jesus Christ. Two Bibles, one of regular size and one of the pocket variety, are among his most prized belongings in the 6-by-4-foot area that Cross calls home in the state penitentiary. ''We still struggle," he said. ''But so far, so good."
Cross is one of 275 Texas inmates enrolled in the InnerChange Freedom Initiative, an offshoot of the Prison Fellowship movement launched by Charles Colson, a former aide to President Nixon who pleaded guilty to Watergate-related charges in 1974. The voluntary program, now used in four state prison systems with plans to expand soon to two more, began in Richmond in 1997 under George W. Bush, then governor, as a total-immersion way to turn criminals toward Jesus.
Although the Texas program does not receive state money, its evangelical foundation has raised questions about the government promotion of religion. And in Iowa, where InnerChange does receive state money, a lawsuit says the program promotes evangelical Christianity and grants enrolled inmates preferential treatment.
The Iowa lawsuit is seen as a significant test that could have far-reaching influence on the spread of faith-based programs in publicly funded venues.
''It's an evangelical Christian program, I think that's very clear," said Alex Luchenitser, lead attorney for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, a Washington-based advocacy group that filed suit in US District Court in Des Moines challenging the program. ''All . . . staff members, both employees and volunteers, sign a detailed statement of faith that reflects evangelical Christian views that many other Christians would not agree with."
Luchenitser said the plaintiffs have evidence that InnerChange counselors in Iowa have made ''derogatory statements about other faiths, especially Catholics." One counselor in Iowa allegedly compared the pope to ''Hitler" and ''the antichrist," Luchenitser said. In addition, he said, InnerChange staff have told Native American inmates that their traditional worship rituals are ''witchcraft" and ''sorcery."
Mark Earley, president of Prison Fellowship, said he is aware of allegations that InnerChange staff have made derogatory statements about other religions. However, he added, ''if that has happened in the past, we don't condone it and approve of it."
InnerChange officials at the medium-security Newton Correctional Facility in Iowa declined to comment, citing the pending court case. Final arguments are scheduled for Feb. 17. The stakes are high, Luchenitser believes. ''We think that whatever this court does, other courts across the country will listen," he said.
Besides what Luchenitser described as a clear endorsement of evangelical Christianity, which holds that salvation is possible only through Jesus Christ, Iowa inmates who enter the program are moved to better housing, put on a faster track toward parole, have increased access to computers, and receive extra visits by family members, Luchenitser said.
''No other faith has a program like this" in Iowa, said Robert Boston, a spokesman for Americans United for Separation of Church and State. ''The state claims, and InnerChange claims, that inmates of any faith can take part. . . . But it's so saturated in evangelical Christianity that you have to be able to put up with a lot if you're not of that mindset."
Earley, however, defended the program as a sorely needed, effective tool that does not discriminate against differing religious views.
''This type of model, in some form, we really think is the key to solving one of the biggest social problems in America," said Earley, a Republican and former Virginia attorney general who ran for governor in 2001 unsuccessfully. ''The broader context of this lawsuit and our program is that state governments and correction departments cannot engage in the rehabilitation of prisoners on a wholesale level. There's simply not enough money. In times of fiscal stress, they'll be the first to be cut."
InnerChange programs in Kansas and Minnesota receive about 25 to 30 percent of their budgets from the states, compared with about 40 percent in Iowa, Earley said.
''The state funds being used, in part, to fund religious expression and, hopefully, character development, is a pretty well-established precedent in constitutional law," said Earley, citing public funds being used to pay many prison chaplains. ''In almost every prison system in America, there are state funds used to allow inmates to engage in religious programming of their preference. That's something that's been around for a long time."
Earley thinks opposition to the program is ironic. ''Here you have a program that's seeking to offer rehabilitation in prisons on a pretty dramatic scale, and they're opposing it," Earley said.
Support for InnerChange is echoed by inmates at the Carol S. Vance unit in Richmond, a minimum-security facility that is used exclusively by inmates who volunteer for the 18-month program and are within two years of parole eligibility. ''When I first got here, I couldn't even spell 'God,' " said George Garcia, 48, a Brooklyn native who has served 24 years in Texas prisons on international drug-trafficking and weapons charges.
''I was nothing but trouble," Garcia said. ''I thought I was trash, but God doesn't make trash. When I leave here, it's the last time I'm going to see this place."
Garcia, who described himself as a ''cradle Catholic," said the program's evangelical approach troubled him at first because of its divergence from Catholic doctrine. But the longer he listened to the counselors, Garcia said, the more he focused on developing a personal relationship with Jesus Christ rather than differences between Christian denominations.
''We all believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins," said Garcia, who plans to pursue a law degree if he is paroled.
Director Tommie Dorsett said that InnerChange relies on private donations for its operating costs, including the $500,000 chapel that was built by InnerChange on the prison grounds.
However, Dorsett acknowledged that the prison provides office space for InnerChange at no cost.
''Regardless of whether we were here, the state would still house these prisoners, and clothe them, and feed them," he said.
The program includes Catholics and Muslims, who enroll voluntarily and are provided with weekly services, he said. ''No matter what your religion or denomination is, we respect that," Dorsett said. 