Statement by Fred Thompson on First Amendment Ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit

McLean, VA - Sen. Fred Thompson released the following statement today in response to a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit - Americans United for Separation of Church and State v. Prison Fellowship - regarding an important First Amendment ruling on religious programming in prisons.

“The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals opinion appears to allow Prison Fellowship’s privately funded, voluntary prisoner rehabilitation programs in Iowa’s prisons to continue. Prison inmates face daunting odds: statistically, two-thirds of them will be rearrested within three years of their release. As a society, we must do something to reduce this number and help returning inmates break the cycle of crime. Prison Fellowship’s program has already demonstrated great promise. This ruling will allow faith-based prison programming to continue in order to improve the odds of successful reentry into society. This decision represents a win for the State of Iowa, for Prison Fellowship, and for anyone concerned about reducing recidivism.”

The court ruled that the ministry couldn’t use taxpayers money to fund the program - rightfully. From my understanding, the program can still continue if funded privately by individuals.

More from the AP:

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A federal appeals court ruled Monday that the state of Iowa cannot fund an evangelical Christian prison ministry program because doing so advances or endorses religion, violating the Constitutional separation of church and state.

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld U.S. District Judge Robert Pratt’s June 2006 ruling that a Prison Fellowship Ministries Inc. program at the Newton Correctional Facility was unconstitutional if paid for with taxpayer dollars and should be shut down.

Barry Lynn, executive director of the Washington-based advocacy group Americans United For Separation of Church and State, which brought the lawsuit, said the ruling would have major implications for the Bush administration’s policies of allowing faith-based groups to offer services to government institutions.

“This is an enormously significant case on the whole question of how government can, or in this case, cannot aid religious ministries,” Lynn said.

“I think this has implications far broader than a prison in a single state because the basic framework of this decision, the way they reached the conclusion is that government can’t pay for these religious social services nor can they turn over functions of government essentially to religious operations,” he said.

Prison Fellowship Ministries, which contracts with InnerChange Freedom Initiatives Inc. and other organizations to conduct faith-based programs, must repay about $160,000 to the state for money received between June 2006 and June 2007, said Mark Early, the group’s president.