‘Tear This Whole Thing Down’: United Church of Christ on Reforming or Abolishing Prisons

A panel event organized by Chicago’s Trinity United Church of Christ discussed the question of whether prisons ought to be reformed or abolished completely. Ciera Bates-Chamberlain of Live Free Illinois, a faith-based social advocacy institution, said, “I just question where is the church’s compassion on these issues, and if we have the compassion, we would not want to see our brothers and sisters be treated anything less than Jesus would cause them to be treated… We shouldn’t have cages and treating people like animals. That’s what we mean when we say ‘abolish the prisons and jails.’”

The panel was part of the (In)justice For All Film Festival (IFAFF) and was hosted by The Next Movement committee of the Trinity UCC Prison Ministry. It also featured Daryle Brown, the IFAFF director; Jack Johnson, a formerly incarcerated member of Trinity UCC’s Prison Ministry; Jia Johnson of Solidarity Building Initiative, part of McCormick Theological Seminary (PCUSA); April Friendly of The People’s Lobby (a Chicago social action group which regularly works with faith-based organizations); and Ted Pearson of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression.

One common theme in the conversation was concern for both spiritual and physical well-being as inspiration for the fight against the unjust practice of incarceration. Bates-Chamberlain referenced 3 John 2 as one of her influences for promoting social change. Jia Johnson mentioned the need for “not just spiritual but embodied liberation.”

A consistent debate among the panelists dealt with whether there were in fact some people for whom incarceration was the only option. While there appeared to be shared consensus that many people who are now in prison should not be, Jack Johnson acknowledged the existence of a small group that was “beyond salvageable, those people who absolutely refuse to adhere to any social reason.” Brown; however, said that even in such cases, “People don’t start off like that; the system has failed them early on… There are damaged people that need help, but is prison the best way to do it?”

All of the panelists offered some suggestions as to how the current prison system needs to change. Multiple people pointed to the benefits of better education for the incarcerated, with Brown noting, “If you come out of prison and get a master’s degree, you don’t come back to prison. We clearly know things that work.”

Jack Johnson discussed doing more to involve imprisoned people’s communities and families. Bates-Chamberlain mentioned “taking capitalism out of the prison system,” especially by addressing private prisons, while Friendly argued for ending cash bail. Jia Johnson decried prosecutors pushing for excessive sentencing, and Pearson similarly advocated the abolition of the life without parole sentence.

Nevertheless, there was broad agreement that ending incarceration altogether was ultimately the best path forward. Brown admitted as much from the outset, calling prison reform “not a popular option in the circles I run in.”

Pearson stated, “All of us are affected by a system that exploits us… There’s no solution except a very radical approach which is going to fundamentally change the system.”

Friendly added, “We must collectively reimagine what society can look like without human cages… We need to work together to tear this whole thing down.”

Fighting for justice is admirable. And doing so out of a desire to emulate Jesus’ compassion even on those whose behavior was uncontrolled or dangerous, which as Bates-Chamberlain mentioned is exemplified in passages like Mark 9:14-29, is all the more admirable. Much change is undoubtedly needed to ensure that all prisoners are treated humanely and are given meaningful opportunities to reenter society successfully, and Christians should stand behind such efforts.

However, this panel also represents some of the worst impulses of the criminal justice reform movement. Productive social movements are built around genuine attempts to create consensus around the most pertinent and compromise-ripe issues even in the midst of disagreements on a host of other matters.

This is all the more true in the church, where unity in Christ, even as signified by a name like “United Church of Christ,” takes precedence over unity around anything else.

The panelists largely eschewed opportunities to break the barriers of their ideological silos. Brown acknowledged rather straightforwardly, “There’s a whole lot of church folks that don’t think like we think.” Yet instead of thinking more about options to which those “church folks” might be amenable, the speakers took the alternate route of alienating anyone with a diverging opinion in order to advocate a radical stance.

If anything, Trinity UCC Prison Ministry’s panel demonstrates how the status quo of mass incarceration remains intact. Much like “defund the police,” “abolish the prisons” is simply an unpalatable slogan. Christians in particular recognize a government that has punitive power (Romans 13:1-4), and people who are to be held responsible for their own wrongdoing (Ezekiel 18:20). Such questions call for great wisdom and discernment, but few people want to see government stripped of its power to punish or malicious people left to their own devices.

Churches ought to encourage their members to care for and remember those in prison (Hebrews 13:3). Churches ought to call out and oppose injustice, especially injustice against the most vulnerable. Churches ought to be marked by an eager readiness to forgive.

However, calling for prisons to be torn down will ultimately achieve no useful end. The prison abolition cause simply draws attention away from the many real issues that can be solved – solitary confinement, cash bail, education, parole policies, and much more. If these remedies are viewed as pointless until prisons are fully abolished, then the incarceration system will never get better. While these panelists attempted to portray prison abolition as the pinnacle of progress, it is in actuality an enemy of progress.