Christians Oppose Mandatory Minimums at Hearing

Last Thursday on Capitol Hill, FAMM and Justice Fellowship held an important briefing legislative staff on "Christianity, Crime, and Punishment: Why Your Constituents Care."  It was a standing-room-only event, and the distinguished speakers said some great things in opposition to mandatory minimum sentences:

“Policies like mandatory minimums have distracted us from the three primary areas of responsibility for government: making communities safe, restoring victims, and transforming lives of offenders so they can become productive members of society.”
-- Craig DeRoche, Vice President of Justice Fellowship, the advocacy arm of Prison Fellowship Ministries


“Punishment should fit crime - neither leniency nor excess is right.”
-- Barrett Duke, Vice President for Public Policy and Research and Director, The Research Institute of The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) of the Southern Baptist Convention


“Evangelicals appreciate both the freedoms which we enjoy as Americans, and the rule of law that undergirds those freedoms. We support neither anarchy nor tyranny. In our recent history we have not been immune to the general trend toward a more punitive approach to criminal justice. But this tendency stands in sharp tension with the inherently hopeful message of evangelical faith, something that is consistently reflected in NAE statements on criminal justice reform. When we see prisoners as fellow human beings made in God’s image, we can no longer just lock them up and throw away the key.”
-- Galen Carey, Vice President for Government Relations, National Association of Evangelicals


“The Catholic Bishops have rejected mandatory minimums and other simplistic solutions because they fail to account for individual circumstances and eliminate chances for rehabilitation.”
-- Kathy Saile, Director, Office of Domestic Social Development, Department of Justice, Peace & Human Development/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

“This is a critical election year, and the United States is at a crossroads in our approach to crime and punishment. We have the largest prison population and some of the harshest and most expensive sentencing laws in the world, including one-size-fits-all mandatory minimum prison terms. The faith leaders on this panel demonstrate that Christian voters believe that both the Bible and the budget demand congressional action on this issue.”
-- Molly M. Gill, Government Affairs Counsel, FAMM


Christians get it, and it's time for Congress to get on board with them.