Interesting Stastistic

Study Shows 1 in 100 Americans in Prison

www.crosswalk.com

According to Baptist Press, more than one in every 100 American adults are in jail or prison. A recent study by the Pew Center for the States also found that about half of released inmates return to jail or prison within three years.

Mark Earley, president of Prison Fellowship Ministries, told BP the Pew report signals a significant social and moral crisis in the country that should be addressed in part by Christians heeding a parable found in Matthew 25. "Jesus said, 'If you visit a prisoner, you visit Me,'" Earley said. "So we have a mandate from our Lord to care for, to visit and to seek the transformation of those who are in prison."

John Robson, assistant professor of Christian ministry at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary's extension center at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, said the prison problem can be attributed to an amoral, postmodern society, and he said the solution lies in granting inmates access to a faith-based education.