Tony Richie

Guest columnist

The Rev. Tony Richie of Knoxville serves as the senior pastor at the New Harvest Church of God and a professor of theology at the Pentecostal Theological Seminary in Cleveland, Tennessee.

“Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.” Galatians 6:1

The Bible tells us of a loving Lord who warns us against settling for vengeance rather than seeking true justice through God’s will (Hebrews 10:30). Jesus speaks consistently of the importance of forgiveness and reconciliation. In a different context, Apostle Paul clearly writes with a view toward restoration of offenders. As a pastor, I am often distressed by our national prison system, which is focused almost exclusively on punishment with few opportunities for rehabilitation or a path to redemption.

In the United States, we lock increasing numbers of our fellow citizens in prison. Individuals are placed behind bars at alarming rates and for devastating tenures because of excessive sentencing. It seems our society focuses more on the punishment than on the path to rehabilitation.

But under legislation pending in Congress, that could change.

As a person of faith, I believe in redemption stories and in God’s forgiveness. We have a moral imperative to recognize human dignity, especially in sentencing and determining the trajectory of one’s life.

A system that embraces restorative justice and seeks to return rehabilitated offenders to society with their full rights is a system that honors human dignity and reflects the image of God in us all. Though community safety is a legitimate concern, research and real-life examples have proven that education, training and treatment for those convicted are most transformative to individuals, victims and their communities at large. Even when incarceration becomes necessary, providing opportunities for personal transformation is an essential element of an inherent Christian movement toward reconciliation and authentic rehabilitation.

Fortunately, lawmakers are taking significant steps towards a more equitable solution. The Restoring Education And Learning (REAL) Act (H.R.2168/S.1074) would afford opportunity and redemption to people who are incarcerated by lifting the ban on Pell Grants for post-secondary or technical education.

The federal Pell Grant program helps make higher education and technical training more accessible for millions of low-income students. Since 1994, however, individuals incarcerated in state or federal facilities have not been eligible to participate.

This lack of education opportunities only exacerbates challenges for incarcerated individuals as they prepare to reenter society. It is a key contributor to joblessness and perpetuates cycles of poverty, recidivism and mass incarceration. In fact, 40 percent return to prison after only three years. Lifting the ban on Pell Grant eligibility for incarcerated people would be a game-changer. Doesn’t it make more sense to invest in transforming human lives than continually exhausting our resources in an already overextended penal system?

The REAL Act would help people leave prison prepped to successfully reenter society and the workforce, dramatically diminishing their potential for reincarceration and reducing cost to taxpayers through lower prison costs.

The most effective form of criminal justice is one that looks at the whole person, not just the crimes they’ve committed. Allowing people who have been incarcerated to access Pell Grants directly correlates to our faith tradition of forgiveness and redemption and allows everyone to reach their full God-given potential. It helps to reorient our objectives to restoration of human beings and reassures their productive role in society.

Our own U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tennessee) chairs the Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee where the Higher Education Act is being considered. I urge him to show leadership by including the REAL Act’s language in the HEA. Many potentially bright futures depend on it.

The Rev. Tony Richie of Knoxville serves as the senior pastor at the New Harvest Church of God and a professor of theology at the Pentecostal Theological Seminary in Cleveland, Tennessee.