Failure To Incarcerate Worked Better Than Prison

Cornelious "Mike" Anderson with his wife and daughter

At 23 Mike Anderson was sentenced to 13 years in prison for taking part in a robbery at a Missouri fast food restaurant. At that time he was told to simply wait for orders as to when and where he should report to prison.

Due to a clerical error, Mike was never picked up to serve his sentence. Only after the mistake was detected less than a year ago was he apprehended and placed behind bars.

Mike had never tried to hide from the law, and in the meantime turned his life around, started his own construction businesses, got married and had children, coached football for a youth league and was active in his local church.

Mississippi County Judge Terry Lynn Brown, in reviewing his case last week, took only ten minutes to announce his ruling. Mike would get credit for all of his years of being a model community citizen and for the nine months he spent after being arrested last year, and would not even need to be on supervisory parole.

His defense attorney said, "He has been able to accomplish for himself what the criminal justice system does not accomplish in many situations." The judge agreed, saying, "You've been a good father and husband. You've been a good taxpaying citizen of Missouri."

Is the moral of this story that more first time offenders should be given the chance to work at their rehabilitation in their communities rather than being sentenced to ever longer prison stays?

It's certainly worth thinking about.

Information from an AP article in the May 6, 2014, Daily News-Record.

Some Discouraging Local Divorce and Marriage Numbers

Rockingham County Court House

Every year since 1996 the clerk of the local Circuit Court has kindly provided me statistics of marriage licenses issued and divorces granted in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County.

Since our population has increased significantly during this time one would expect a steady rise in marriage numbers, but that's not the case. That doesn't mean fewer couples are pairing up, but we likely have ever more people living together in undocumented (common law) relationships.

With fewer legalized marriages we should also be able to expect fewer legalized divorces. But that isn't true, either. And we have no record of how many cohabiting couples break up, with equally distressing consequences as their married counterparts.

Here are the actual numbers:

Year           Marriages     Divorces

1996            873                 387

1997            950                 405

1998            964                 396

1999            932                 405

2000           947                 365

2001         1003                438     (most annual marriages

2002           976                 421

2003           961                 399

2004           959                 437

2005           889                 381

2006           929                 389

2007           925                 434

2008           950                 405

2009           903                 347     (fewest annual divorces)

2010           879                 358     (fewest annual marriages)

2011            933                 433

2012            995                 445

2013            924                 484     (most annual divorces)

Given the fact that every divorce, documented and otherwise, profoundly impacts not only the couple involved, but the lives of parents, siblings, friends and especially any children involved, the number of our neighbors scarred by dysfunctional marriages and destructive divorces each year is incalculable.

What do we make of these numbers? If we had a corresponding dropout rate in our local schools, wouldn't we be appointing some blue ribbon committees to see what could be done to help more students stick it out?

Click here for additional posts on divorce.

Here's the graph to the year 2012:

Here's our population growth:

May That Day Come Soon

Most of us dream of a world in which "the wolf and the lamb will lie down together", and when "nothing will hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain". The Biblical prophets were bold in declaring that this would be happening not just in some future far away heaven, but right here on planet earth.

The following are the words of a beautiful song, "Bright New World", I heard recently by a men's ensemble called "Voice of Praise" (includes some of my grand-nephews), from their album "Deliverance". I'm inspired by this vision, something we should all fervently pray for every day--that God's will be done on earth just as it is in heaven.

 Bright New World

Some day a bright new wave will break upon the shore

And there will be no sickness, no more crying, no more war

And little children never will grow hungry any more

Some day there'll be an end to unkind words and cruel

The man who said there is no God will know he is a fool

And peace will be the way of life with love the only rule

Some day, we know not when, when time on earth is done

And those redeemed from every land will all become as one

With voices of all ages praising God the three in one

- from the movie "The Cross and the Switchblade"

Guestpost: How Many Years Will Satisfy Virginia's Citizens?

Buckingham Correctional Center

The following was sent to me recently by Charles Zellers, Sr., an inmate I correspond with at the Buckingham Correctional Center. Zellers was incarcerated over twenty-one years ago on the basis of an Alford plea he had agreed to with the understanding that he would soon be eligible for parole and released:

Over ten thousand of Virginia's parole eligible prisoners have been waiting to be released so they can be reunited with loved ones. These men and women have been incarcerated from nineteen to fifty years.

How many years is enough?

Many of these prisoners have been behind bars since they were in their teens and twenties. Now that many of them are elderly they are costing taxpayers more than ever.

Virginia's Parole Board continues to fail thousands of Virginians and their families. Virginia judges had sentenced offenders to sentences that would release men and women back into society if they completed the requirements designed by the General Assembly (COV 53.1-53.1-A) and implemented by the Virginia Department of Corrections Director.

This system was designed to evaluate prisoners received according to their background, aptitude, education and risk based on an assessment of needs, then determine program assignments which include vocational, career and technical education, work and academic activities, counseling, alcohol and substance abuse treatment to help them transition to free society and gainful employment. If the prisoner did not complete these assignment, he or she would receive disciplinary action that would take back good time the person had earned and push back the date of eligibility for discretionary parole release.

But the most recent parole boards, for the most part, have not done this. Governor Allen, who had parole revoked in Virginia for all offenders jailed after July 1, 1995, then created a list of parole decision factors that went beyond those approved by the Assembly. And prisoners are now only entitled to be seen by the parole interviewer only once a year, or every two or three years if the offender has ten or more years left to serve.

The parole board denies release of most prisoners because of "the seriousness of the crime", but this is not what the original law says, resulting in billions of dollars spent in keeping people behind bars who are no longer a risk to society. It is inhumane to keep model prisoners incarcerated until they die.

The basic principle behind the parole system is that while people must be punished for their wrongdoing, most are capable of growing, changing and rejoining society before the end of their discretionary sentence. The parole board should be looking at a prisoner's future and at their accomplishments while incarcerated, not at the past crime that put the offender in prison. For "old law" offenders (prior to 1995) release should be the default and the parole board should have to give a good reason to keep these offenders incarcerated. The millions used to house these offenders could be used for K-12 education, health care, affordable housing and other community services.

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The following is from the Parole Board website:

The Virginia Parole Board was established by law in 1942 and the Board continues to be empowered by Virginia Code Section 53.1-136 to make the following decisions:

• to conditionally release inmates who are parole eligible,
• to revoke parole and post release supervision of those under supervision found to be in violation of the terms of their release, and
• to investigate, prepare reports and advise the Governor, when requested, on Executive Clemencies.

The Board has the legal responsibility to act on geriatric requests for conditional release under Virginia Code Section 53.1 - 40.01.

Current parole board members as recently appointed by Governor McAuliffe include:

Karen Brown, chair (former vice chair)
The Reverend Doctor A. Lincoln James (pastor of Trinity Church in Richmond)
Sherman R. Lea (Roanoke City Council member, former VDOC head, Western District)
Minor F. Stone (25 years in law enforcement)
(unable to find the name of the fifth member)

Ariel Joy, December 27, 2012 - April 25, 2014

Ariel Joy Yoder

Just over a week ago, Alma Jean's grand-nephew Jeremy Yoder and wife Cheryl buried their youngest child and only daughter, Ariel Joy, who died of SMA-Type 1 (Werdnig-Hoffman Disease). Her funeral service in Delaware was on the 58th birthday of her grandfather, Mark Yoder, Jr., Alma Jean's nephew.

While we never got to know this special child personally we kept up with news of her progress through her sixteen months of life, and kept her and her parents and two older brothers in our thoughts and prayers.

Pat Heatwole Hertzler of Powhatan, Virginia, wrote the following about little Ariel on her blog, Country Chatter, which I excerpt here with her permission:

In 16 months Ariel had shyly charmed her way into many hearts. She couldn’t speak except to utter a few noises but she could smile. Her huge brown eyes would connect with the person talking to her for a few seconds as she flashed a big, wide smile.

Then very quickly she would drop her gaze as she glanced to the side. It was sweet, demure, bashful and charming. If you wanted one of those precious smiles you had to drop to her level and look her in the eye.

 She left behind no wealth, no words of wisdom, and no achievements. She never said a bad word, fed herself, or learned to walk. She was never able to approach people, they had to come to her. She left her legacy: joy in the form of her smiles, lot of smiles, and the quiet presence of a life she struggled to live.

Ariel was loved. Her two brothers adored their little sister and her parents faithfully and without any complaint attended to her every need. Ariel went to church and she was told about Jesus and His love for her. She was prayed for by her family, extended family, church family, friends and friends of friends who fervently hoped and longed for a miracle of healing.

Ariel lost her fight to live on earth but she gained heaven’s victory. SMA is a cruel disease robbing the body of the ability to move and grow. At 16 months she weighed a mere 10-1/2 lbs.

The last weeks had become an increasing struggle for Ariel. Breathing and eating became more difficult and she had several choking episodes. She started running a fever and about 1:30 on Friday morning Cheryl got her and put her between them in bed. At six when they awoke she was gone.

We don’t know all that happens at death but God’s Word gives us nuggets of information, treasures that bring peace to our minds and understanding to our hearts....

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

Alma Jean's niece Mary Ann Yutzy, who also has a widely read blog, posted the following blessing for her brother Mark Yoder, Jr., and his wife Polly (Heatwole), and for Ariel's parents, Jeremy and Cheryl:

May the years to come mark this day with a surge of joy
as you remember a little girl who could light up a room with her smile.

May you be blessed to remember that God entrusted Ariel to your family
and that you did not fail her on a single count of love or care or faith or nurture.

May your heart be light as you remember that you rejoiced over her with singing.

And may this day be remembered by something other than a small grave in a Delaware cemetery
that holds only the chrysalis of a Heavenly Butterfly
that is more alive now than any of us are or ever will be in this life.

May the memories that you have made this weekend as a family
be the things you remember whenever these days come up in conversation,
by inference or in the quiet remembering of your own soul.

Although mighty forces have waged war against you and your family, do not worry.

You already have the victory.

Reaching Out To The Mentally Ill And Desperately Poor

Sam with Dr Ruiz, president of the World Psychiatric Association

My good friend Sam Nickels grew up with a brother who struggled with schizophrenia. As a result he became deeply committed to supporting individuals and families dealing with mental illness.

From 1995-2000 Sam worked with Mennonite Central Committee in El Salvador. While there he was moved by the terrible conditions of patients in that country's psychiatric hospital, and by the complete absence of community services. As a result, he partnered with a Salvadoran nonprofit, the Center for Health and Human Development, to begin a family education and support program in 2002 called Mental Health International.

Over the years the program added a psychosocial group and a program to help the mentally ill get out of their homes and to find employment, along with doing other advocacy and community education activities

Now his vision has expanded to starting similar self-help groups across Central America.

Mental Health International deserves our support. Please visit his website or Facebook page for more information.

And join me in making a generous donation.

Reports Of My Retirement Are Greatly Exaggerated

Mark Twain's original quote

Occasionally folks ask me about rumors they've heard that I was retiring.

This doesn't surprise me, since, Lord willing, I will turn 75 at the end of next month. And had you asked me my plans a decade ago I would have probably assured you I'd be fully retired by now.

But here I am, still not sure just when I will end my work at Family Life Resource Center, where I've served as a counselor since the fall of 1988. My present thinking is that as long as I enjoy good health and a plentiful supply of energy, I can't think of any way I'd rather spend my time than doing what I do--including serving as pastor of Family of Hope House Church and being involved in various community causes.

Needless to say, I feel incredibly blessed to being able to work at a place like FLRC. The word "family" in our name is what I experience on a regular basis with my co-workers. They are friends and colleagues who are truly great to work with.

And I totally love all of the clients I've learned so much from in my 25 years of working there. They are a gift that keeps on giving.

Having said that, I have cut back somewhat on my hours, giving myself Monday and Tuesday forenoons off and all or a part of every Friday. So I enjoy the best of both worlds, time for grandparenting, gardening, pastoring, blogging and for other things I care deeply about, plus time for doing what I've grown to love, meeting with individuals and couples going through times of stress.

God is good. How could I ask for more?

And now this message from all of us at FLRC:

Family Life Resource Center invites you to our fundraising banquet, Hand in Hand:  Partnering for Congregational Care, Saturday, May 17 at VMRC's Hartman Dining Hall, 6 pm.  Learn about the exciting plans of FLRC's renewed desire to partner with congregations and the community for care, support, and counseling. Entertainment by a cappella group, Good Company. RSVP to Marie at (540) 434-8450 or marie@flrc.org by Thursday, May 8th.