GOD in US (PRISONS)
Row over religion's role in US jails
By Justin Webb BBC News, Tucker, Arkansas
Supporters of President George W Bush say it's one of his greatest achievements: encouraging religious organisations to help with the provision of basic social services.
Bobby Lytle says the InnerChange programme has changed his life
The White House has doled out millions of dollars of public funding to these bodies - many of them representing evangelical Christians.
But in one area an effort is being made in the courts to stop the practice.
The "InnerChange Freedom Initiative" has seen evangelicals take over wings of prisons around the nation and set up special courses for chosen inmates.
Supporters say it cuts down repeat offending - but opponents say it is evangelism by the back door, paid for in part by the state.
So far the courts - in an important case brought in Ohio - have sided with those who oppose these schemes. The issue is expected to go all the way to the US Supreme Court.
So I visited a prison to find out what supporters and, crucially, prisoners themselves, make of the fuss.
'Miraculous' change
Bobby Lytle is four years into a 17-year sentence for second degree murder.
Inmates who sign up to the scheme live in a different wing of the prison
His life up to now has not been a great success. But he tells me it has changed utterly thanks to the InnerChange programme at Tucker Correctional Facility, near Little Rock, Arkansas.
Four years ago, he says, "I took a man's life." And, he adds, "There is no going back from that."
In his previous life, he says, the slightest disagreement would have led him to violence. "I would have bust you up," he says.
Now Bobby says he wants nothing more than to contribute to the community. Violence is a thing of the past for him.
It sounds miraculous - and many supporters of this scheme would happily use that word.
The prisoners rise up as one to pledge their allegiance to Jesus and the Bible and to their new selves.
I looked around the room and there wasn't a man there who didn't have tears in his eyes
Christopher ElmoreInnerChange participant
This is recognisably and unashamedly an evangelical Christian setting - but there is more to it than prayer.
In a class entitled Authentic Manhood, for instance, the inmates are taught how to treat women and children. They are taught things they never learned from their abusive fathers and disrupted families, and things that occasionally make them weep with sadness and recognition.
The teacher explains the aim of the good husband: to be a leader of the family but to earn that leadership, not demand it. The prisoners nod, they seem to get it.
The first time he attended the Authentic Manhood class, Christopher Elmore says: "I looked around the room and there wasn't a man there who didn't have tears in his eyes."
Chris Gilbert agrees: "If I was to get into a relationship I would know how to treat her - I know how to provide now."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6228854.stm
By Justin Webb BBC News, Tucker, Arkansas
Supporters of President George W Bush say it's one of his greatest achievements: encouraging religious organisations to help with the provision of basic social services.
Bobby Lytle says the InnerChange programme has changed his life
The White House has doled out millions of dollars of public funding to these bodies - many of them representing evangelical Christians.
But in one area an effort is being made in the courts to stop the practice.
The "InnerChange Freedom Initiative" has seen evangelicals take over wings of prisons around the nation and set up special courses for chosen inmates.
Supporters say it cuts down repeat offending - but opponents say it is evangelism by the back door, paid for in part by the state.
So far the courts - in an important case brought in Ohio - have sided with those who oppose these schemes. The issue is expected to go all the way to the US Supreme Court.
So I visited a prison to find out what supporters and, crucially, prisoners themselves, make of the fuss.
'Miraculous' change
Bobby Lytle is four years into a 17-year sentence for second degree murder.
Inmates who sign up to the scheme live in a different wing of the prison
His life up to now has not been a great success. But he tells me it has changed utterly thanks to the InnerChange programme at Tucker Correctional Facility, near Little Rock, Arkansas.
Four years ago, he says, "I took a man's life." And, he adds, "There is no going back from that."
In his previous life, he says, the slightest disagreement would have led him to violence. "I would have bust you up," he says.
Now Bobby says he wants nothing more than to contribute to the community. Violence is a thing of the past for him.
It sounds miraculous - and many supporters of this scheme would happily use that word.
The prisoners rise up as one to pledge their allegiance to Jesus and the Bible and to their new selves.
I looked around the room and there wasn't a man there who didn't have tears in his eyes
Christopher ElmoreInnerChange participant
This is recognisably and unashamedly an evangelical Christian setting - but there is more to it than prayer.
In a class entitled Authentic Manhood, for instance, the inmates are taught how to treat women and children. They are taught things they never learned from their abusive fathers and disrupted families, and things that occasionally make them weep with sadness and recognition.
The teacher explains the aim of the good husband: to be a leader of the family but to earn that leadership, not demand it. The prisoners nod, they seem to get it.
The first time he attended the Authentic Manhood class, Christopher Elmore says: "I looked around the room and there wasn't a man there who didn't have tears in his eyes."
Chris Gilbert agrees: "If I was to get into a relationship I would know how to treat her - I know how to provide now."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6228854.stm
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