CRIMINAL JUSTICE

 

"I heard the heavy metal doors clang shut.  I was sealed off from the entrance behind me. My stomach sank. I was captive but only to my imagination. I clutched my camera ready to shoot the environment and inmates imprisoned at Walla Walla State Prison." So begins the story of Chris's visit to Walla Walla Penitentiary.  His tour of the "big house" took place in the 70's. 

 Chris's coverage for the Spokane Daily Chronicle, with reporter Bill Morlin, pointed to the need for prison reform.  Today the cry for defunding the police and emptying the prisons has resulted in more crime and more dead police. Here is my attempt to write a blog about the crime wave going on in our nation.   Oh sure, we have always had unlawful acts perpetrated by unscrupulous people.  But now it seems worse.  It is as Chris says, we have "the murder" report on the news every night.  I'll have to admit that there is less crime in eastern Washington so the news is better over here. Still it is not good.  

So last summer I considered joining a group at our church to discuss a book entitled, "Rethinking Incarceration," published by Tantor Media, Inc. I read the first chapter and was struck by the fact that both sides-- the criminals and law inforcement-- have evil abounding.  Then I read a review. It said-- "Despite the positives of this section of the book, there are some extremely serious negatives, the first of which is Gilliard's denial of the doctrine of penal substitutionary atonement (PSA)." As a result I did not join the group.  No need to reiterate hopelessness.

The only answer to the problem of evil is Jesus.  Above is a You Tube of testimonies about how Jesus has made a difference at Walla Walla state pen.  Here is a link to the series on prison reform. Jesus has made the difference in prisons.  Only Jesus can save us.

Acts 4:11"...This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”