Kingston Penitentiary
The crowd joined in attacking[Paul and Silas], and the magistrates had them stripped of their clothing and ordered them to be beaten with rods. After they had given them a severe flogging, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to keep them securely. Following these instructions, he put them in the innermost cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was an earthquake so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken, and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened.
Acts 16: 22-26 NRSVue
On the weekend our younger daughter, Emily, was in Kingston with a group of friends and they decided to do a tour of the Penitentiary. Kingston Pen, once a maximum security federal prison, has been closed to inmates for more than a decade but continues on as a tourist attraction and as a movie and TV set. It has been described as the Alcatraz of Canada, but don't tell that to the Orange Menace.
Emily was aware that I did a chaplaincy internship at KP while I was at seminary, not quite the usual summer placement on the prairies. She was surprised to discover that I was 24 at the time (hey, we were all young once) and wanted to know what she might look for. I told her that while they would take the tour through a solitary confinement unit reserved for the those singled out for additional punishment or protection they wouldn't see "the hole" where I was assigned. I made my daily excursion down the stairs to the set of a dozen or so narrow cells where guards who were not impressed by chaplains in general gave me reluctant access. I couldn't find any photos of that miserable place.
As some readers will know, those months of chaplaincy changed my outlook on those we incarcerate as a society and altered my perception of human nature --"there but for the grace of God go I", quite literally. I learned that inmates were human beings from every background, although the poor and those with learning disabilities were highly over-represented and the justice system had usually failed them.
In recent days we've heard about the failure of the Canadian prisons and provincial jails in providing even the basics of daily living. They are overcrowded and understaffed, creating highly volatile environments. A recent report indicates that inmates have shorter lifespans and the issues of drug addiction are serious.
When the Quakers of the 19th century in the US invented prisons where inmates would become "penitent" they were considered innovative. Nearly two centuries later "modern" prisons in North America tend to be gloomy and violent institutions where spiritual reform is in short supply.Yes, most of them deserved to be incarcerated but our jails and prisons are not the answer.
As Christians we can forget that John the Baptist, Jesus, and the apostle Paul were jailed or imprisoned. Paul wrote New Testament letters while in the hoosgow, or under house arrest. While we were in Israel in 2023 we visited the prison in Caesarea Maritima, under excavation While we might argue that they were prisoners of conscience, incarceration is never just about the reasons for being there.
There was a relatively happy ending to the story from Acts, above, but that isn't the reality for so many who end up in jail or prison. I've heard a fair number of Christians offer harsh perspectives about locking people up and throwing away the key.
We can all do better, including our Ontario premier.
Caesarea Maritima Prison
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