InnerChange prison program appeal on appeals court docket
by Allie Martin and Jody Brown
February 13, 2007
(OneNewsNow.com) - - The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis will hear oral arguments in the appeal of a federal judge's ruling against Prison Fellowship, the InnerChange Freedom Initiative (IFI), and the State of Iowa. Last summer, a judge ruled that the IFI program -- a Prison Fellowship-sponsored, faith-based pre-release program for prisoners -- in Iowa is unconstitutional because it was sectarian. The program was introduced several years ago in Iowa prisons and, according to a Prison Fellowship press statement, has reduced recidivism and produced "dramatic" results in prisoners' lives. Americans United for Separation of Church and State sued the state, claiming the program was unconstitutional -- and Judge Robert Pratt with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa agreed, saying IFI was "pervasively sectarian" and thus in violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. But Mark Earley, president of Prison Fellowship, says the program does not violate the U.S. Constitution.
"The men and women who participate in them do so voluntarily," Earley points out. "They come voluntarily, they can leave voluntarily. It's open to people of all faiths, even though it's based on a Christian approach to commonly held principles such as honesty and hard work and responsibility. People are advised of that up front."
In addition to Iowa, the InnerChange Freedom Initiative operates in Texas, Minnesota, Kansas, and Arkansas, and will launch next month in Missouri. There is much at stake, says Earley.
"The reason this case is so important is because the way the judge decided it makes the stakes really high," he says. Earley notes that Judge Pratt in his ruling stated that, by definition, "anything evangelicals do or say is aimed at converting someone; therefore they can't operate in the public square."
Earley is concerned that Pratt's ruling, if allowed to stand, could greatly affect groups like The Salvation Army -- which simply does works of mercy, he notes -- and faith-based hospitals and institutions that care for people with mental illnesses in prisons. "All of that would have to go away under this judge's paradigm," states the Prison Fellowship president.
The appeal will be heard by a three-judge panel that includes retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. A decision is expected later in the year.
