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Criminal Justice
This section includes articles with themes that include the death penalty, prisons & jails, restorative justice, political prisoners, and related topics.

Redefining Restorative Justice

The phrase “restorative justice” is popular among advocates for criminal justice reform, but Rima Vesely-Flad finds it lacking. She argues that formerly incarcerated persons are being discriminated against, denying both their humanity and access to work. [posted 1/27/05]

January/ February 2002 issue of The Witness magazine Resisting a Culture of Punishment Criminal justice activists have long maintained that a xenophobic, punitive mindset permeates the U.S.’ understanding of law and order. This issue probes that claim in light of the realities of the nation’s rapidly growing prison-industrial complex. Feature articles include interviews with Van Jones of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights and Bishop Herbert Thompson, who spoke out following the shooting of an African-American teenager in his city, and a focus on faith-based death penalty campaigns.

Be an Established People in the Land of Exile

African-Americans were denied the ability to vote in the 2000 presidential election by the thousands, some legally but many illegally. Citing the biblical words of the prophet Jeremiah, Rima Vesely-Flad seeks a way for blacks to reclaim their political rights. [posted 10/14/04]

Positive Identification

Last year, Lin Walton's Florida vacation was violently interrupted when a naked teenager broke down his front door. Based on that incident and his experience with the capture of a suspect, he has serious questions about our criminal justice system. [posted 7/15/04]

Youth Prisons Fail Our Society

The California Youth Authority is the largest system of its kind in the U.S., housing over 4,000 young people. Nicole Lee says it's also the worst such system, featuring violent physical and psychological abuse and a pathetic recidivism rate of 91%. [posted 5/20/04]

Neutralize!

Human rights abuses in Iraq and the U.S. motivate Mitsuye Yamada to revise a poem she wrote years ago to women political prisoners. “To drown out the silence/ I fill my inner ear with robinsongs/ human screeches and scrapes.” [posted 5/19/04]

A Church That Can Still Change Lives

The Week of Christian Unity just ended, and with Christians increasingly divided along political lines, unity seems far off. Chris Chivers finds hope, however, in a London worship service that brought together hundreds of victims and perpetrators of violence. The gathering served proof that transformation and reconciliation are still possible. [posted 2/5/04]

Building a Strategy for the Solomons
The Solomon Islands are once again enveloped in political chaos and violence. Terry Brown, Anglican Bishop of Malaita, provides a less tabloid-like perspective of the situation than the Western media’s, while calling on Australia & New Zealand to intervene. [posted 7/22/03]

Locking More People Up
The U.K. now "leads" Europe in one statistic: locking up people in prison. Peter Selby, the "Bishop to Prisons in England and Wales," offers a sobering report on Britain’s criminal justice system. [posted 7/22/03]

How Many Immigrants Must You Imprison to Turn a Profit?
The private prison industry has grown exponentially in the past two decades, but recently their growth has stalled. May Va Lor reports that these politically opportunistic corporations have seized onto anti-immigrant sentiments as a way to sustain their profit margins. [posted 8/8/02]

Justice on Trial in South Africa
South Africa’s "People’s Poet," the award-winning Mzwakhe Mbuli, is in prison on a bank robbery conviction. In an era of "truth and reconciliation," Tom Anthony sharply questions the state’s case against Mbuli.

ANWR: Worth My First Arrest
What leads to your first participation in civil disobedience? Attending a protest against proposed oil drilling in Alaska, Sally Bingham was moved to stand up – by kneeling down – for what she believes.

For Whom the Bells Toll: A New National Death Penalty Project
In just a few months, a Catholic nun has organized a grassroots nationwide campaign of religious institutions on capital punishment. Dorothy Briggs tells her story, and invites your community to join this simple yet powerful project.

Jubilee Reflections on Mordechai Vanunu and Samuel Day
In reflecting on the diverse meanings of "Jubilee 2000," Middle East advocate Patti Browning honors Israeli nuclear protester Mordechai Vanunu and the deceased activist Sam Day.

Timothy McVeigh: Capital Punishment and the Horror of Oklahoma City
The execution of convicted Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh has created a media circus, but who is addressing the moral & ethical issues involved? John Chane argues that theologically, we, too, have become murderers.

The Failure of Retributive Justice
The death penalty is seen by many as a deterrent to violent crime. Taking his cue from a South African justice activist, Michael Phillips instead sees it as one more element in an endless cycle of violence.