This song is serving as my final project for my Intro to Christian Ethics course. Since the assignment was to make an argument, this song resembles an academic paper more than a poem. This accompanying reflection reads elaborates on my arguement.

The existence of prisons as we know them is incompatible with Jesus Christ’s Gospel message which proclaims freedom for the captive. Incarceration in the United States is a tool for anti-blackness oppression, and the system must be dismantled in order to create a more just society. Our unjust justice system in the United States is based on punishment which is not justice, only by proxy revenge. Those who claim to follow Christ can and should support the abolition of prisons. This stance comes into tension in cases when police officers are put on trial for murder, especially when they have murdered a person of color and are less likely to face a conviction. I maintain that Christians and other justice-seekers can support imprisoning cops like Derek Chauvin for murder while also seeking to dismantle the prison system. This is because if prison is an option for the population, it must be an option for cops as well.

However, this does not mean putting Derek Chauvin behind bars is God’s justice or any sort of justice at all. It could be called police accountability, but this is so rare that the term is almost meaningless. Activist Dylan Rodríguez uses what might be a better phrase: “casualty management.” The unfortunate reality is that Chauvin’s conviction could convince the country that our system of carceral punishment is actually fair and just and should be maintained and protected. Putting a single cop behind bars does little to fix the problem, but it is a moment of recognition for black lives mattering.

In The Fall of Prison, Lee Griffith takes a look at biblical perspectives on prison abolition. In chapter five, using the lens of discipleship, he states that “biblical discipleship is marked by freedom” and “If we deny Jesus’ proclamation of freedom for slaves and prisoners, then we deny God’s freedom for the rest of us as well" (Lee, 180). He is absolutely right. Freedom is a foundational idea and reality in Jesus’ ministry and his death and resurrection. Supporting imprisonment is antithetical to God’s vision for the world. When I say I support Derek Chauvin going to prison, it is not because I think his imprisonment is somehow supported by Christ’s message—it is not. We are in a system with abysmally limited options, and Chauvin’s imprisonment makes sense within the system we have. Dietrich Bonhoeffer famously recognized that being a part of the plot to kill Hitler was not a guilt-free endeavor, but he was willing to take on the burden of ending someone’s life in order to save the lives of others. This is in a similar vein. Imprisoning someone is immoral; however, in this case, it is needed. Chauvin’s imprisonment will be a consolation.

Griffith is also right in naming that the violence and crime we see in the United States are reflections of our society’s values. American culture has always been and is permeated by violence and its glorification. Bringing about a world without prisons also involves creating a world that does not idolize violence. It requires imagination, creativity, and a willingness to follow the Holy Spirit in the quest for true justice. True justice will look like a society where everyone can have their basic needs. Not just food and shelter—though that is a start—but also education, health, recreation, art, and beauty. Prison abolition is not simply the destruction of the prison-industrial complex, it is the building up of a new society where the idolization of violence is replaced by exemplars of compassion, gentleness, generosity, and love.

 
Bibliography

Griffith, Lee. The Fall of Prison: Biblical Perspectives on Prison Abolition. Grand Rapids, MI:
William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1993.

Kaba, Mariame. We Do This ‘Til We Free Us: Abolitionist Organizing and Transforming Justice.
Chicago, IL: Haymarket Books, 2021.

Kim Wilson and Brian Sonenstein, “Dylan Rodríguez, Part II: Police Accountability Is Casualty
Management,” Beyond Prisons, podcast audio, August 5, 2020.
www.beyond-prisons.com/home/dylan-rodriguez-part-ii-police-accountability-is-casualty-management