Court Rules in Favor of Faith-Based Prison Program, Reversing Earlier Ruling
"This is a huge victory for faith-based programs."
A 2006 lawsuit brought by Americans United for Separation of Church and State accused the InnerChange Freedom Initiative (IFI) plan in an Iowa prison of being illegal, and U.S. District Judge Robert Pratt ordered it closed down. Now, the Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed that decision and ruled that the program is effective and can move forward. (Photo: InnerChange)
"We are grateful to the Eighth Circuit for refusing to handcuff people of faith who are helping corrections officials turn inmates' lives around," Prison Fellowship President Mark Earley said. "What was at stake here, at its heart, is public safety. The keys to reducing recidivism and protecting the public from repeat offenses are the very kinds of effective rehabilitation and re-entry services provided by the InnerChange Freedom Initiative."
"This is a huge victory for faith-based programs," said Eric Rassbach, the national litigation director for the Becket Fund which represented IFI in the challenge.
