Saturday, December 1, 2001

"the voice of one crying out in the wilderness." Mark 1:3

A prophetic voice that came of the wilderness of a prison cell, into the wilderness of a bigoted world, was Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He was a German theologian and pastor, and a Nazi resister during WWII. When Hitler made it plain that his ways were the answer to protecting the German people from the communist threat, Bonhoeffer along with others tried to confront his tactics. Dietrich's family, neighbors and parishioners didn't want to hear his message. Neither did Hitler. Bonhoeffer called people of faith to take a stand. Unfortunately for him, he was imprisoned for his beliefs and eventually died in prison, as one who spoke from the wilderness.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer's imprisonment moves me to think about our country's prison systems--systems that are laden with injustice and oppression. How do we deal with the fact that we live in a country where the death penalty is still a reality in a number of states? And what do we do with the realization that people are sitting on death row who are found to be innocent of their alleged crimes?

Amnesty International has recently focused attention on Wisconsin because of our Supermax prison. This organization is asking many questions about our maximum-security prison. Why does Wisconsin need a Supermax facility with a capacity of 500, when we have an overall total of 20,000 prison inmates? Why are juveniles a part of the Supermax population? Why aren't family members allowed to visit, in person, rather than on closed circuit TV? Why are prisoners not allowed adequate recreation time and why is long-term isolation the norm?

Some have described this prison as a psychological death row, and a place that capitalizes on the politics of law and order and overlooks the humanity of its inmates. Yet to speak out about Supermax may not be an easy thing to do. Our families, neighbors, and churches may not want to hear these words about this situation in our own back yard. But isn't this one of those instances where, to keep silent, we will simply be a part of the system that by our silence, supports injustice?

FOR REFLECTION: When have we last visited or communicated with someone in prison? What could we say/do that could be a voice of hope for prisoners?

Sue Burwell

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