subject: Let there be a prison reform bill in Ted Kennedy's name; A radical vision for reform for the criminal justice system [print this page] Let there be a prison reform bill in Ted Kennedy's name: A radical vision of reform for the criminal justice system
It is said that the evidence from the Chappaquiddick incident was surpressed at the time, and if it had not been so then Ted would have been found guilty and spent time in prison. But this is not what happened. Instead of justice God's grace prevailed and instead of rotting in prison he spent the next 40 years in the senate, serving his country, and being a productive member of society. It is probable that the guilt he felt motivated him to do good to compensate. I once heard a pastor preach on grace. He said that justice is getting what you deserve, mercy is not getting what you deserve and grace is unmerited favor.
The same grace that Teddy was given should also be extended to others, giving them also a chance to be a productive member of society. Ted's life is a testimony of the wisdom of this approach. To make this work, we would need the assistance of ministers in court. When a person is accused of a crime, he would be given the opportunity to repent of his mistake, and be saved by Jesus. Then the ministers who are assigned to these courts would assign each such person a minister that would disciple him and hold him accountable. People who know they are guilty are usually very thankful to be given this opportunity. Jesus did the same thing. He said to sinners "go and sin no more."
People in this program need to be forgiven and have their charges dropped. When people are found guilty it puts a spirit of condemnation over them. This acts like a curse and defiles them to sin again, or for the devil to re-accuse them again. That is why there is a high recidivism rate in jails. Once they accept Christ their sins are forgiven and there is no record of their sins. When we stand before God on judgement day the devil will read our sins, but those who have accepted Christ will have him as their advocate, and he will tell God there is no record of our sins because he already paid the price for it. This same grace needs to be extended to those already in jail; they should have their records clean and be set free.
I had a man who was an off-duty cop rape me once. I preached to him and he stopped. Then he said that he should get his gun and shoot himself after having done this. I told him, "No, Jesus forgives you and so do I." I ran into him a month later by divine appointment and he told me that he had gone to his superiors and told them what happened, and they had asked him if he wanted them to kill me for him (protecting the name of the police dept. in case I went to the newspapers about it). He said he told them "No, I love her, leave her alone." I learned from this incident that forgiveness is necessary. If I had not forgiven him on the spot I would have been a mark for the police to kill me. Jesus said that if we don't forgive people their trespasses against us, God won't forgive ours. (Matthew 6:14-15)
The criminal justice system is based on the Old Testament system of justice and punishment. The New Testament came to replace the Old Testament with the grace and forgiveness of Jesus if we repent of our sins. "The law came by Moses but grace and truth come by Jesus Christ." John 1:17 God prophesied that He would replace the Mosaic covenant with a new covenant, where His spirit would live inside us. Jer 31:31.This reform will bring revival to this country and make us more kind and loving.
There is more prophetic writing at http://www.1prophetspeaks.comwhichhas free books including Manual for Transformational Healing-God's Answer to Psychiatry which exposes the unconstituional atheistic mental health system & talks about healing of mental & physical illness through Jesus. Also minibook Spiritual Wisdom.
Let there be a prison reform bill in Ted Kennedy's name; A radical vision for reform for the criminal justice system
