Tulsa World: A faith-based prison is pushed

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A faith-based prison is pushed
The privately run lockup would have only Christians on its staff.

By BILL SHERMAN World Religion Writer
Published: 11/2/2009 2:22 AM
Last Modified: 11/2/2009 3:43 AM

WAKITA — This tiny town near the Oklahoma-Kansas state line north of Enid may soon own the country's only all-Christian prison, with Christian administrators, employees, counselors and programs.

The idea is backed by Wakita's leaders, has some support from state officials, and, its founders believe, is able to pass constitutional muster.

"If Chicken Little doesn't come to town, we'll be open in 16 months," said Bill Robinson, the founder of Corrections Concepts Inc., a Dallas nonprofit prison ministry that is spearheading the project.

Mayor Kelly George said officials of this town of 380 were fully behind the project and have done everything they need to make it happen.

A 150-acre site on the edge Wakita has been selected, and an agreement has been reached with Corrections Concepts Inc. to manage the 600-bed prison if and when it is built.

Does George believe the prison will be built?

"We're dealing with politicians here; you tell me," he said.

Robinson said the $42 million project would be financed with bonds.

A bond underwriting company said that if a government jurisdiction will commit to sending 310 inmates at a cost of $42.80 a day, bond sales can begin, and the project can proceed.

Robinson said that in a recent meeting, Justin Jones, the head of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, listed "hoops we have to jump through, and we know we can meet all those requirements."

He said he found that encouraging, but he realizes that it carried no guarantees.

Renee Watkins, the administrator of private prisons and jails for the Department of Corrections, said Corrections Concepts Inc. had presented the project to the agency.

"It's a good concept," she said.

"But as far as us using it, we can't make a commitment at all. We're in a bad position because of budget shortfalls. We're not in the market for private prison beds."

Robinson said that if the Corrections Department does not commit to using the prison, the ministry will seek inmates from other states.

Dwight Bushman, an economic development consultant for Wakita, said he initially favored the project because it would benefit the city. "Now I see it as a benefit to our state as a whole, because we can reduce recidivism," he said.

Brad Mohler, the founder of Reconnect Staffing, an Oklahoma City employment service that assists ex-convicts, is working to build support for the Wakita prison.

He called it a hybrid between state-owned prisons, which are underfunded, and private prisons, whose goal is to produce revenue for stockholders.

"This is a good idea, a concept that hasn't been done yet," Mohler said.

Robinson, himself an ex-con and prison minister, said he had been working for years on the idea of an all-Christian prison, and he had invested $1.3 million so far on construction plans and other expenses.

He said a lot of prisons have faith-based or Christian units, but he knows of none with an all-Christian staff.

"The staff, being all born-again believers, will see this as a mission," he said.

"I want people to understand what it's about. It's about changing criminals into citizens."

The prison would accept only men near the end of their sentences who volunteer to come into the prison and sign an agreement to participate.

They would work full time at private industries that operate inside the prison, get job training, and earn money.

The money would go to support their families, pay restitution to their victims, contribute to their own room and board, and produce a nest egg they can take when they leave prison.

Classes in literacy, General Educational Development requirements and life skills would be offered, and Wayland University, a Christian college in Plainview, Texas, has agreed to put a satellite campus in the prison.

"They don't have to go to church, or Bible study, but they have to participate in the curriculum, which is Christ-centered," Robinson said.

He possesses legal opinions that say that as a religious organization, the prison will be able to hire only people of like faith, he said.

If constitutional challenges arise, he said, the American Center for Law and Justice, a major Christian law firm, has agreed to represent the ministry for free.

"True public safety is to change prisoners into citizens," Robinson said.

"Ninety-eight percent of offenders are going to get out of prison. What kind of offender do you want living next door?"

Bill Sherman 581-8398
bill.sherman@tulsaworld.com By BILL SHERMAN World Religion Writer

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	Report Comment Elusive, the burbs (11/2/2009 2:48:00 AM) I don't see anything wrong with it as long it's voluntary except the part where they say they will only hire people of like faith. Isn't that discimination?
	Report Comment Alan Shore, (11/2/2009 5:58:57 AM) Is this just for crooked pastors AND crooked priests?
	Report Comment florence, tulsa (11/2/2009 7:16:44 AM) Shore: Faith based programs have generally gone to great effort to keep Roman Catholic priests, Rabbis and others away from their programs, and under Bush II do so with great sucess, they a la Colson bunch wouldn't allow Catholics to have Catholic bibles. So their "faith" only extends to what's good for the founders and their numbers are very suspect. Lots of stories out there about these folks, read carefully and legislators should be very careful---but they won't.
	Report Comment 007, Tulsa (11/2/2009 8:13:27 AM) What do they do? beat the inmates over the head with the bible?
	Report Comment my view, Sand Springs (11/2/2009 8:26:56 AM) Give me a break this concept will not work and it won't be constitutional. But the column does give the christian basher a forum.
	Report Comment DBJohn, Tulsa (11/2/2009 9:00:32 AM) I foresee the ACLU having a hay day with this.
	Report Comment Ignatz, A nice place where Democrats hold every office in the County. (11/2/2009 9:36:14 AM) How about criminal based ministries? Wait, we alraedy have a large number of those.
	Report Comment Daven, Tulsa (11/2/2009 9:37:10 AM) I bet this would only fly for Christian or Catholic faiths. Lets try a Muslim prison and see how that goes. Or how about a Athest prison only. If you dont see a problem with this Christian only prison then you have no idea what freedom of religion is.
	Report Comment nucleardad, Tulsa (11/2/2009 9:43:31 AM) More Christian Taliban training sites? Somebody didn't like Sunday School.
	Report Comment Mar, Tulsa (11/2/2009 10:12:37 AM) Well, considering regular prisons have not been successful in handling convicts and when the convicts leave prison the majority commit more crimes and end up back in prison. I say give it a try, they couldn't do much worse. nucleardad, I understand "freedom" very much, thank you. But so far nothing else has worked for the prison systems. The comment about the ACLU is right. They will be on that like stink on a skunk.
	Report Comment gadfly, Broken Arrow (11/2/2009 11:04:28 AM) Mar -- when you suggest that ACLU is somehow "bad for America" -- you are, in fact, stating that there is something in the US Constitution that you don't like. So, next time, don't misuse the ACLU -- just tell us what's wrong with our Constitution.
	Report Comment forkandknife, Tulsa (11/2/2009 11:05:05 AM) I am really not understanding the whole "terms" behind this? Do it matter if you are a christian or not to work in a prison? How do you know for sure some is a christian? I mean with our economy. I am pretty sure that if someone needed a job that bad, they would do or say anything to get one. Am I wrong in saying this?
	Report Comment Basil, Tulsa (11/2/2009 11:24:26 AM) "Lets try a Muslim prison and see how that goes." Judge each group by the fruit it produces. While no one can deny there are those who do things in the name of Christ who show sad hypocrisy, Christian programs in prisons have shown a great success in rehabilitating many prisoners, compared to other non-religious and non-Christian groups.
	Report Comment mr.peabody, country side oklahoma (11/2/2009 11:27:25 AM) My daughter works for ODOC in close proximity to prisoners. There are times when she has to stay late because meals are held up for Muslims to have prayer and such. The system already comports itself to minority religions. They also already have chapel for Christians. I agree with the reasoned persons that think this will not pass muster on the hiring part. Unless it is privately owned and only overseen by ODOC. Still it will probably be met with strong opposition.
	Report Comment etroadrunner, Bixby (11/2/2009 11:27:34 AM) Excuse me but, if the state hires a vendor (faith-based prison) who discriminates in their hiring practices based on religion, doesn’t the state risk loosing federal funding? Renee Watkins should have known and pointed that out. If, she is in fact employed by the Department of Corrections.
	Report Comment JAO, Tulsa (11/2/2009 11:28:50 AM) Why should only "born again" Christians be given special treatment? How about other prisoners, particularly those nearing release back into society? This is discriminatory treatment and the ACLU, Americans United for Separation of Church & State, Interfaith Alliance, and others need to get this stopped, assuming taxpayer funds will be used.
	Report Comment Q2, (11/2/2009 11:29:36 AM) Actually, this has been tried before. It was called the Inquisition. After all, you have a "captive" audience. Let's force everyone to see it our way. It also appears that you're saying "if you're not one of us, don't bother applying for a job." Last I checked, being or becoming Christian has to come from one's own heart. Seems like you want to put someone in solitary confinement if they don't pray your way.
	Report Comment mr.peabody, country side oklahoma (11/2/2009 11:36:31 AM) etroadrunner-short answer-yes
	Report Comment Basil, Tulsa (11/2/2009 11:43:43 AM) " . . . don't misuse the ACLU -- just tell us what's wrong with our Constitution." If you're government educated, you may have a censored knowledge of American history, which excludes any religious statements made by our founders and political leaders, but let me assure you religious expression in public life was intended to be protected by the Constitution of the United States, not banned. It's only with the past 40 years that we've seen a substancial errosion of our Constitutional right to express our faith in government. The ACLU has re-interpretted the Constitution and have corrupted the original understanding of the free-exercise of religion and establishment of religion clauses..
	Report Comment Basil, Tulsa (11/2/2009 11:51:10 AM) Sorry for all the typos.
	Report Comment mr.peabody, country side oklahoma (11/2/2009 11:53:10 AM) Basil-that's a-ok, I do it all the time. I only correct myself when I leave out words.LOL
	Report Comment tbgalileo, Tulsa (11/2/2009 11:54:18 AM) "Christian programs in prisons have shown a great success in rehabilitating many prisoners" As a former parole officer with DOC, I can definitely affirm that this statement is bs. The "success" of christian ministries is usually measured in how religious the person appears to be, not whether or not they are truly rehabilitated in society. I've seen far too many common crack-heads who one minute are praising jesus and the next hitting the pipe and stealing to get their next rock.
	Report Comment cowboyweasel, Tulsa, OK (11/2/2009 11:57:56 AM) Wow my hometown made the news and it is kind of good news. I say if it saves the town then I'm for it. If you look up the population and the ADM at Tulsa area schools's fav website (OSSAA's website) you will notice that Wakita is near the bottom and if they had some sports they would play 8-man football. The school is in danger of not having enough people to make it worthwhile to keep it open. Once the school leaves the town will dwindle and will probably die off. If this gives the town a much needed population influx then maybe it will save the town.
	Report Comment etroadrunner, Bixby (11/2/2009 11:58:11 AM) Bill Sherman - You need to change the heading to read "The privately run lockup would have only Born Again Christians on its staff." That is clearly pointed out in the body of your article and would exclude the vast majority of Christians who live in this country from being hired by this faith-based prison.
	Report Comment mr.peabody, country side oklahoma (11/2/2009 12:01:50 PM) Cowboyweasel- short of a seqeual to the movie "Twister", I think it may be awhile if this doesn't happen.

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