More God, Less Crime by Byron Johnson

Author:Byron Johnson [Johnson, Byron]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, General, Criminology, Sociology of Religion, Religion, Christianity
ISBN: 9781599473833
Google: -uPsDwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Templeton Foundation Press
Published: 2011-05-15T03:58:28+00:00

Sam was released from prison after completing only six months in the IFI program. He was arrested five months later on a new charge of forgery. Sam was interviewed back in prison. Sam indicated that he left prison without a mentor. He lived at home with his wife and daughter and attended church. He stated that he attended church weekly until August. His wife stated that Sam was attending church regularly when he first got out of prison, and would even attend when she could not. However, his adjustment to the free world was difficult because he was so impatient. Minor arguments or problems were difficult for him to handle.

Sam stated that problems at home caused him to quit attending church and go back to living on the streets. However, when asked about the problems at home, he was never clear as to what the struggles were about. When asked where he moved to after leaving home, he responded, “I was motel hopping.” When asked about his church, he indicated that there was more of a spiritual feeling at IFI than the church he was attending in the free world. In other words, the church on the outside didn’t measure up to the church behind the prison bars. He stated that nobody knew him at church and that he never really was “plugged in.”

Sam stated that he left home, church, and his job all at the same time. When asked if he knew he was throwing it all away when he left, he responded, “Yes.” He also stated that if he had stayed at IFI for the full eighteen months, he would have been much better off. His statement, “I didn’t have anybody to turn to,” is troubling since it appears he turned away from exactly the people who could help him most. According to his wife, “He didn’t have support from a mentor. There were times he needed someone else besides me.” She stated that Sam needed more patience, and that eventually he was just looking for an excuse to snap. She indicated a mentor could have made a difference. She further stated that he had a job at Holiday Cleaners, and she had even found him a truck to purchase. Unlike many of Sam’s IFI colleagues on parole, money was not an issue as his family was quite stable financially.

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