The Prisoner And The Chaplain

What if prison was the only world that existed for you now and everything else was a story? What if you weren't sure if you were guilty but wanted forgiveness in any form? The Prisoner and the Chaplain is about two men; one man awaiting execution, the other man listening to his story. As the hours drain away, the chaplain must decide if the prisoner's story is an off-the-cuff confession or a last bid for salvation. As the chaplain listens he realizes a life has many stories, and he has his own story to tell--a last ditch plea for forgiveness told to someone who will never be able to repeat it. Each man is guilty in his own way, and their stories have led them to the same room, a room that only one of them will leave alive. If you had only twelve hours left to live, what would you have to say?

In the last twelve hours of his life, a death-row prisoner relays his story to a chaplain.

FORMER TEXAS PRISON CHAPLAIN REV. CARROLL PICKETT, WORKING WITH TWO-TIME EDGAR AWARD WINNER AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR CARLTON STOWERS, PROVIDES THIS ELOQUENT, UNFLINCHING LOOK AT CAPITAL PUNISHMENT. Within These Walls is the powerful memoir of Rev. Carroll Pickett, who spent fifteen years as the death house chaplain at “The Walls,” the Huntsville unit of the Texas prison system. In that capacity, Reverend Pickett ministered to ninety-five men before they were put to death by lethal injection. They came with sinister nicknames like “The Candy Man” and “The Good Samaritan Killer,” some contrite, some angry—a few who might even have been innocent. All of them found in Reverend Pickett their last chance for an unbiased confessor who would look at them only as fellow humans, not simply as the convicted criminals the rest of society had already dismissed them as. This firsthand experience gave Reverend Pickett the unique insight needed to write an impassioned statement on the realities of capital punishment in America. The result is a thought-provoking and compelling book that takes the reader inside the criminal mind, inside the execution chamber, and inside the heart of a remarkable man who shares his thoughts and observations not only about capital punishment, but about the dark world of prison society

A riveting, behind-the-bars look at one of America's most feared prisons: San Quentin-- by a minister to the lost souls sitting on death row. Himself a former criminal, Smith shares the most important lessons he's learned from years of helping inmates discover God's plan for them. Their stories show us that it is still possible to find God's grace and mercy from behind bars, and that it's never too late to turn our lives around.

"For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (Ephesians 2:10) When his walk with God began, Hank Dixon was facing a life sentence for murder. Little did he realize, God's grace would not only set him on a path to encounter the ghosts of his past, but also call him to prison ministry. A Lifer's Journey is a heartfelt journey through the most meaningful of encounters that have spanned an ex-con's twenty-year prison ministry career, where expectations are sometimes turned inside-out. From encounters with an ex-cop serving time in a maximum security seg unit to the powerful moment, in the fire of a riot, where God reached out to touch the life of one the most rejected of criminals, Hank's story weaves together life changing personal experiences with a deep compassion for both inmates and staff, revealing a prison world where invoked or not, God is present.

Mary Brown’s engaging book describes the ‘lifeline’ work of the prison chaplaincy. Written by a Quaker chaplain, it shows how important to prisoners this contact is and how it blends into the ever-pressing world of prison regimes. Among the topics covered are the ‘statutory duties’ of chaplains, forgiveness, ‘prison chapel goers’, Christmas in prison, delivering bad news, dealing with grief or anxiety, learning in prisonand restorative justice (which is in line with the teachings of many faiths: as old as religion itself). As the author insists, there is ‘that of God’ to be found in everyone no matter what their crime. Critical, perceptive and of particular interest to people working in or learning about crime and punishment, Confessions of a Prison Chaplain contains insights for people of all faiths (or none); looks at restorative justice and positive justice; and re-affirms the importance of pastoral support in the reform and rehabilitation of prisoners.

This book is an attempt by the author to give us a brief human insight into life behind bars in one of our penal institutions. It is written from the perspective of someone who has walked the walk with the prisoner for twenty years and now questions the effectiveness of our criminal justice system. She is an advocate for a Restorative Justice System and sees this model as the way forward. She argues that true justice lies in healing for all involved in criminal behaviour, including victim, perpetrator and society. The second part of the book hears the voices of the prisoners in emotionally charged reflections on the reality of life within a prison cell. The author challenges the use of prisons to deal with addictions, mental health issues and homelessness.Where prisons are needed, as they are for a small cohort of people, they should be open institutions dedicated to rehabilitation based on the needs of the individual and on societal needs of the time.