The National Dilemma

1. Recidivism: Consistently, 70% of all inmates released from county jail will return to jail within one year of their release; 80% of all inmates released from state or federal prison will return to prison within 2 years of their release. Those who return to prison will have spent a good part of those 2 years in a county jail while the case was adjudicated. Net effect: 80% return to some type of custody within a year of release.

2. Crime: The same major felony crimes (murder, rape, arson, and aggravated assault) which occur in the large urban centers of America occurs at the same statistical rates in the rural communities and hamlets across the land.

3. The Reason: Sin in the human heart is the sole cause of crime. Population density, education level, and socioeconomic status are popular scapegoats in society’s attempt to shift the blame to something beyond its control. But it is plain and open rebellion in the human heart against a Holy God which is responsible for crime everywhere.

“Whatever makes men good Christians, makes them good citizens.”

- Daniel Webster

4. The Problem: Upon release, most inmates attempt to make cosmetic, superficial changes in their lives by moving away, getting a different job, or even isolating themselves from former friends or temptations. But without a spiritual change in their heart, they are destined to fail. Either the old sin will resurface, or it will simply be replaced by a different one.

“The reason that Christianity is the best friend of Government is because Christianity is the only religion that changes the heart.”

-Thomas Jefferson

5. The Answer: A changed heart through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Truth comes only from the Word of God, the Holy Bible. Answers given outside of Biblical Truth will be a waste of time for both you and the inmate. This includes attempting to use the foolishness of man’s wisdom found in secular humanistic psychology as a basis for treatment or rehabilitation of any kind. Jesus said:

“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

- Jesus in John 8:32

Addictions:

It is estimated that 85% of all inmates in America (whether they be in local county jails, state prisons, or federal penitentiaries) have some form of addictive behavior or a related lifestyle that directly contributed to the activity which resulted in their arrest. This is not an excuse. Rather, it is merely evidence of the sin nature which needs to be addressed in an effective manner by applying the Truth of God’s Word to the problem.

Criminal Rehabilitation:

The model of secular humanistic psychology has been the accepted “professional” standard for treatment and rehabilitation within the correctional system in America for over six decades.

Observation: If psychology really works, then we should be seeing a decline in the inmate population, not the increase we have seen over the past sixty years. The national offender population is actully increasing faster than we can build jails and prisons in which to incarcerate them. As a result, courts are releasing dangerous criminals back into society for lack of space in our jails and prisons.

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