Sasha Volokh has been writing a series of deeply interesting and thoughtful articles on the phenomenon of the faith-based prison, focusing especially on the effectiveness of faith-based prisons in reducing recidivism and in other ways.  Readers interested in the subject will find much to admire in Sasha’s careful and provocative work: see here and here.  For criticism of Sasha’s views, see this short reply by Giovanna Shay. 

For my own take on faith-based prisons — which focuses neither on empirical nor constitutional questions, but instead on the conceptual position, historical and contemporary, of (religious) penance in punishment theory — see this piece.

One thought on “Volokh on the Efficacy of Faith-Based Prisons

  1. There should be no prisons except as holding cells while convicted criminals await sentencing. Prisons such as we have today are not Biblical, are not in accord with God’s Word. Scripture prescribes three basic forms of punishment: Capital punishment; corporal punishment; restitution to the VICTIM and not the STATE. Our present so-called “criminal justice system” is both criminal and unjust because it ignores what God says.

    John Lofton, Recovering Republican
    JohnLofton.com
    JLof@aol.com

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