Faith and Fortitude: 10-Year Assessment of Recidivism at a New Church-Based Prison in South Korea

Abstract

Substantial desistance from re-offending is one pragmatic goal of punishment. But that goal seemingly is not achieved in the contemporary experience of corrections within the U.S. This article marvels at how the abysmal record of desistance failure has characterized American penological practices in an age of mass incarceration. It notes prison programs are operationally desirable with short of empirical evidence for reduced recidivism. Religious immersion provides a promising avenue for lower recidivism. The article discusses a private prison in South Korea, built and operated by a church organization, that now has a decade of operating experience with sizable lower recidivism. The preliminary analysis shows a 3-year recidivism rate (re-incarceration) of about 10% compared with about 23% in comparable Korean prisons.

Keywords

recidivism private prison religious programing South Korea correction

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