The Decatur County Detention Center in Greensburg, IN, took to social media to celebrate the new year with the announcement of nearly 40 men and women inmates being baptized. “What a great way to celebrate Christmas and a New Year!” the post announced. “DCDC Chaplain Dave Burnett, along with REC members, baptized nearly 40 men and women after a personal, public profession of Jesus Christ in their lives.” The baptisms are part of the Center’s “Residents Encountering Christ” (REC) program, part of outgoing Sheriff David Durant’s emphasis on rehabilitation programs. Durant pushed for extra space made for rehabilitation programs in the recently-constructed Center, including secular programs like the Moral Reconation Therapy provided for by the Decatur County United Fund. In 2019, Durant spoke to the Daily Mail about his belief in the need for “heart change” to help inmates avoid recidivism. “… everyone knows that the longest distance to travel is the 18 inches between the head and the heart,” he said. “If you can change the heart during that journey, everything will follow suit. Whether it be alcohol or drugs or poverty that are creating the cycle, we only have to change their hearts to stop the process.” The program boasts more than 300 inmates have been baptized.

Of course, not everyone is thrilled with the announcement. A lawyer from the Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF) sent a letter to the Center demanding that it stop “its promotion of, and official affiliation with, Christianity on its official social media pages and through its religious events, programs, and activities in violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.” The FFRF had previously sent a letter to the Center in July. “… it is obvious that the Department’s motive in planning and promoting inmate baptisms, the REC program, and the MRT program is not simply to accommodate inmates but to advance Christianity and coerce inmates and the broader Decatur County community to adhere to the tenets of Christianity… Any inmate aware of the DCDC’s official support for, and celebration of inmates participating in, religious programs will not feel free to decline to participate. This is constitutionally impermissible.” the letter stated at that time.

Recidivism, or the re-entry of inmates into the correctional system soon after their release, affects many American inmates. According to the National Institute of Justice, 44 percent of released criminals are reincarcerated within the first year of their release. In 2005, 68 percent had been arrested within 3 years with a new crime, and 77 percent were arrested within 5 years. In 2005, an article entitled “Effect of Faith-Based Programs in Reducing Recidivism and Substance Abuse of Ex-Offenders,” looked at two of the leading faith-based programs for fighting recidivism: Teen Challenge International and Prison Fellowship Ministries. The article concluded that “…faith-based programs for offenders work because they instill positive values and alter deviant behavior through proven techniques.” Another article entitled “Can a Faith-Based Prison Reduce Recidivism” found that participants in the InnerChange Freedom Initiative (IFI), a faith-based program in a Texas prison, had much lower arrest rates after leaving prison versus non-IFI participants (17.3 percent vs. 35 percent). They also had much lower reincarceration rates (8 percent vs. 20.3 percent). Martin King, a participant in a similar program in Florida, shared his hope for change. “Our fight is not over. We must continue to press individually; we must not cower at the chance to become men and continue to improve our lives and be proof that change is possible.”