Punishment

Could the God of Love create a system which condemns the majority of humanity to Hell? Universalism, i.e., the belief in Universal Salvation, says no, and I agree.

Part 2 of interviews about treatment courts which achieve impressive results and save lots of money. Today we visit with participants of the local Drug & Mental Health Courts - Mike Gumulauskas & Rob Bergeron.

Reformatories seldom reform, and penitentiary seldom produce penitence, but groom criminals to re-offend. For certain offenders, treatment courts achieve impressive results and save lots of money, bringing bi-partisan support.

Robin Bernstein traces the roots & mechanisms of racism in Racial Innocence: Performing American Childhood from Slavery to Civil Rights. Robin's piercing analysis and thorough research ferret out gems of both fact and insight, providing powerful resources for those working to reduce racism and its propaganda.

Melanie G. Snyder is author of Grace Goes To Prison which tells the story of Grace Marie Hamilton's growing and deepening work in Pennsylvania prisons, covering a wide variety of initiatives and programs aimed at reforming, improving and humanizing the lives of prisoners. Melanie also interacts with the legal system in her work as a restorative justice mediator.

The Wisconsin Network for Peace & Justice will be presenting its Lifetime Achievement award on October 3, 2009. One awardee, Esther Heffernan, is a Dominican nun and Sociology prof at Edgewood College, with a lifetime concern for prison reform. Steve Burns, program coordinator for WNPJ also joins us.