Instructor: Will Duchon
Quotes
To assert in any case that a man must be absolutely cut off from society because he is absolutely evil amounts to saying that society is absolutely good and no-one in his right mind will believe this today.
Albert Camus (1913-1960) French novelist, essayist and dramatist.
Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also a prison.
Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) American naturalist, poet and philosopher.
I know not whether Laws be right or whether Laws be wrong; all that we know who live in prison is that the wall is strong; and that each day is like a year, a year whose days are long.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet and dramatist.
“I am holding on and encouraged each time I hear from you, my brother. Pass my regards on to the family and the “Team”. I love each one of you like family because you all are the true meaning of family.”
Shane Watson (1965- ), inmate at Green Haven Correctional Facility. From a letter to Will Duchon in 2004
Some initial thoughts from Will on Prison Ministry
Prison ministry is a specialized form of ministry. I believe that the essence of ministry is most vivid when ministry is understood to be a verb. In this sense, “to minister” is to give service, care, or aid; attend, as to wants or necessities. One who is truly “doing ministry” is not concerned with being perceived of as a “minister”; although others may think of her/him this way. So to keep it simple, I choose to define the topic of “prison ministry” as simply the act of caring for someone who is in prison.
In my visits to Green Haven Correctional Facility, I have witnessed many acts of prison ministry performed by people of all ages and races. I doubt these people would define themselves as ministers. To the imprisoned men on the receiving end of these visits I am certain that these men and women are truly sent from God.
Prison Ministry in the Hebrew & Christian Scriptures:
Read Isaiah 58: 6-9. In this passage, the prophet Isaiah warns against empty ritual and reflects the essence of ministry.
Read Matthew 25: 35-40 for a description of basic acts of “ministry”. One interpretation of this passage would be that when we serve the hungry, the thirsty, the homeless, the sick and the prisoner, we serve Jesus.
Some Cold Statistics about Incarceration in the U.S.:
These numbers can serve as a foundation for this study. The danger of using them, of course, is that we can lose touch with the fact that these statistics represent actual people. In order to keep the term “prison ministry” in context, it is important to have a basic idea of what is going on in the United States prison system. So take a few moments to ponder the following statistics, gathered in June of 2006. Let’s preface these statistics with an alarming fact: The United States imprisons more people than any other nation on the planet.
U.S. incarceration rates by race & gender, June 30, 2006
A clear racial and gender bias permeates the criminal justice system:
Whites: 409 per 100,000
Latinos: 1,038 per 100,000
Blacks: 2,468 per 100,000
Females: 134 per 100,000
Males: 1,384 per 100,000
White males: 736 per 100,000
Latino males: 1,862 per 100,000
Black males: 4,789 per 100,000
For White males ages 25-29: 1,685 per 100,000.
For Latino males ages 25-29: 3,912 per 100,000.
For Black males ages 25-29: 11,695 per 100,000. (That's 11.7% of Black men in their late 20s.)
“Two gathered in my name...” Personal Reflections & Shane Watson
Each person in prison has a story, a personal history, a tale to tell. The circumstances surrounding individual cases may vary, but there are probably more similarities than differences. What I have learned from my experience with prison ministry is that common themes shared by those incarcerated are: drugs, lack of education, and poverty. We talk of the United States being the most violent nation on the planet, in terms of the crime rate and the murder rate. I’ve come to believe that poverty is the worst form of this violence, because it breeds desperation and loss of hope which can lead to desperate acts.
In 2003, I began my correspondence with Mr. Shane Watson, who is currently serving a 25 years to life sentence at Green Haven Correctional Facility in Stormville, NY. Over time, many letters and visits, I have come to know Shane very well. He is now 42 years old, and the father of four children: Shane Jr., Shana, Brandon and Jason. Shane also was recently married to a special woman by the name of Paula Jones. (Prisons allow inmates to marry and even have “honeymoons” of two days together in a trailer on the prison grounds.)
Shane was convicted of second-degree murder in 1993, related to a shooting in the Bronx, NY in 1991. His case is a perfect example of an eyewitness case; the jury convicted Shane on the basis of the testimony of three eyewitnesses, and their subsequent ID of Shane in photo arrays and lineup procedures at the police precinct. There is no DNA evidence in Shane’s case. The victim, Mark Johnson, was shot three times at 11:30 PM on Schefflein Avenue in the Bronx. Mr. Johnson’s girlfriend was standing about ten feet away from the victim, and could not identify the shooter. The other “eyewitnesses” gave conflicting statements to the police. None of the eyewitnesses claimed to see the face of the shooter, yet each identified Shane from a photo array and a lineup.
This is not the place to delve further into the details of Shane’s case. My point in relating this information is to illustrate a sad reality that exists in the criminal justice system. To me, what makes Shane Watson’s case so compelling is that his case is so “ordinary”. By this I mean, there is no celebrity, no high-priced lawyers, no scandal; just a simple case of the District Attorney’s office wanting to close the case of yet another shooting in the inner city. The victim of the shooting, Mark Johnson, was on parole for a homicide at the time of his death. He was known to be a drug dealer in the neighborhood. The police investigating Mr. Johnson’s death never bothered to check anyone connected to Mr. Johnson’s victim (the person he killed). The police also never bothered searching Shane Watson’s home for a gun or clothing with gunpowder residue. After studying Shane’s case (trial transcripts, police reports, etc.) it is very clear to me that his case is just another example of someone being wrongfully convicted of a crime.
While the majority of people in prison are in fact guilty of the crimes they have been convicted of, there are many cases like Shane Watson’s, where due to a flawed prosecution and/or suspect police procedures, someone is serving time having been wrongfully convicted.
What does this all have to do with “prison ministry”? I can say that despite the frustration I have encountered in my attempts to exonerate Shane, there has also been much healing and a deepening of friendship between Shane and me. We both talk of our families, and discuss problems and frustrations we have felt as fathers. I have come to know Shane’s mother, Joan, as well as Shane’s wife Paula, and my life has been enriched through these encounters. I have learned to be grateful for my freedom, and the ability to come and go as I please; something Shane has not known for fifteen years now. I can honestly say that in every meeting with Shane at Green Haven, I have felt the quiet presence of God. And when I’ve left the prison and walked through the parking lot to my car, I’ve always wondered who was being “ministered to”; Shane, or me?
Discussion Questions:
Why do you think prisoners in the United States are by far Black and Latino males?
Have you known anyone who has spent time in jail or prison? If so, what are your perceptions of this person? If not, what image do you have of a “prisoner” or “convict”?
What messages might the Isaiah and Matthew passages hold for those in prison? What messages do they hold for those not incarcerated?
Resources for Further Study
To begin a prison ministry of your own, I suggest first praying about it. There are several online resources you might investigate:
www.prisonministry.net
www.writeaprisoner.com
Of course, you may also feel free to write to Shane Watson:
Din# 93A9384
C/o Green Haven Correctional Facility
PO Box 4000
Stormville, NY 12582
For more information about Shane’s case and my involvement, visit
www.opus30.net
For information/statistics about the prison system in the US:
www.prisonsucks.com
Finally, there is an excellent book by Alan Elsner titled “Gates of Injustice” which examines the inconsistencies and bias that plague the prison system. Here is a link to Mr. Elsner’s book:
http://www.amazon.com/Gates-Injustice-Americas-Financial-Prentice/dp/0131427911
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