Imagine you are sitting in a compact 75 square foot prison cell, with only a bed and a toilet. What do you spend your time doing? Are you supposed to dwell on what got you in there in the first place or keep counting the number of bricks your entire cell is made up of? Many inmates have chosen to explore the realms of religion. The sources that have helped them to develop this religious journey are found in the prison library. These religious materials, including books, tapes, cds, magazines, etc, have been provided by many churches and religious groups seeking to reach out to these inmates, during such a desolate time in their lives. According to the September 10th 2007 edition of the New York Times, in the article “Prisons Purge Books on Faith from Libraries” by Laurie Goodstein, these beloved books and religious materials are being taken away. The reason for this limit on what materials available to the inmates is a precautious effort in preventing another September 11 attack. As Goodstein writes, “The report recommended steps that prisons should take, in light of the Sept. 11 attacks, to avoid becoming recruiting grounds for militant Islamic and other religious groups.” Isn’t this imposing on our freedom of religion granted to us by the Bill of Rights in the First Amendment? The U.S. Constitution Online has the First Amendment written out and it states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. Isn’t the taking away of these religious sources a direct violation of the first amendment? A few of the inmates believed that it was and filed a lawsuit acting as their own lawyers. When Goodstein proceeds to talk about this lawsuit she also adds that one of these inmates filing the lawsuit was a Muslim convert. Is this her way of trying to point out that prisoners do convert to Islam and that it possibly is a threat?
After looking at the Federal Bureau of Prisons I found under Inmate Matters, a religious programs section that says, “Religious programs are led or supervised by staff chaplains, contract spiritual leaders, and community volunteers. Chaplains oversee inmate self-improvement forums such as scripture study and religious workshops, and provide pastoral care, spiritual guidance, and counseling.” On this page they did not mention the restrictions and limitations on what religious materials they can study from. Imagine you’ve been an inmate for 20 years and had certain books available to you and now they are being taken away. Goodstein also writes that, “Chapel collections must now be built from approved lists.” These lists are provided by a chosen panel. My final question is; are these prisoners still entitled to the Bill of Rights or will we let our fear of terrorism shape the meaning of the Constitution for us?
3 comments:
September 11 brought up a whole bunch of questions surrounding the prevention of terrorism. Most of the "solutions" they have found for eliminating terrorism have gone against the constitution. I think that fear covers up rational thinking sometimes, and often allows irrational thinking to go unnoticed. How far can we go past rational thinking and past the constitution to "eliminate" this fear of terrorism. I do not have an answer for terrorism, but I do agree that preventing another attack should not override the constitution.
I do believe that removing religious books from prisons is against the constitution. It seems wrong that the government should mandate what is read - censorship. However when you are in prison, you have done something wrong. You are being punished for this crime - and in that sense censorship could almost be part of your payment.
In a Christian perspective, jail cells seems to be an ever-growing missions field; the situation for a conversion is perfect. People who have been punished for a crime/sin are daily reminded of what they've done--often desparate for a change. I agree that it seems to be against constitution to lawfully take away religious reading material simply out of fear. In some sense, I am joyed to think that God can move people, in a jail cell. On the other hand, fear is produced when thinking beyond the Christian influence and into the world of terrorism. Is there a layed out solution? As of now, it seems that the safety of the U.S. prevails.
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