Going to Jail

Yesterday I went to jail.  The Hampton City Jail next door to St. John's Episcopal Church in Hampton.  I accompanied a friend of mine who does a Bible study/spirituality group for the women there.  A few years ago I went to the Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail here in Williamsburg for a tour but that's the only other time I've been to jail.  When I was growing up "jail" was always the middle spot on the Monopoly board, that place that you had to go and miss your turns.  "Do not pass Go, do not collect $200, go directly to JAIL."  The place where you waited until you could return to the game.

For some reason jail does not frighten me.  I was nervous the first time I went, but yesterday I felt completely calm.  It's nice that Hampton City jail has windows and so light comes it.  That's probably the only nice thing about it, and I can only say it's nice because when the big doors slam shut behind me, I know that I will get to go out again in a few hours.  What isn't nice is 24 beds in 3 cells for 30 women.  And a lot of other things.

Yesterday I also read an article online about a lawyer in Texas who is wearing jailhouse orange scrubs for Lent in order to stand in solidarity with those in and returning from prison.  The article says, "McKeever is hoping his choice of clothes will kick-start discussions about the failures of the criminal justice and immigration detention systems and the lack of employment opportunities for 'returning citizens.'
He said his 'Lenten spiritual practice' also has caused him to reflect on the teachings of Jesus about the poor and dispossessed — and his own social privileges as a white professional male.
'I wanted this to be a time for repentance, sacrifice and humility in my own faith, and in a way that will lead many of us to a corporate confession of our complicity with a system that devastates individuals, families and communities, often communities of color,' he said."

Yeah.  What he said.  One of the reasons we're starting PlanetRecovery at SpiritWorks and picking up trash and cigarette butts is because many of the people who come to us cannot get jobs.  And if you can't get a job, find housing, and support yourself with basic human needs, what is left to you?  You've got to survive some way.  The answer is not more prison time.

I am only beginning to learn about the criminal justice system in our country, about mandatory minimums, the effects of the "war on drugs," the ghettoizing of the cities, and the economics of the prison system.  As with so many systemic issues, the problem seems so large and needs to be combated on so many levels.  It's easy to throw up my hands and say, "What's the use?!"

But that's how evil wins.  We may be powerless over the disease of addiction and over the choices that other people make, but we are not powerless to make changes in the world, starting with ourselves.  Unlike in Monopoly, after people have spent time waiting in jail, even if they have changed and are ready and willing to do whatever it takes to become productive members of society, they often don't get to return to the game.  "Have you ever been convicted of a felony?"  Yes.  "Well too bad for you."  With PlanetRecovery, we hope to be able to help people return to the game, to gain job skills and employment so that they can provide for themselves and their families, so that they will have a chance.