Christian-Based Prison Proposed In Texas

Yesterday's Houston Chronicle carries an interesting story on a proposal by Bill Robinson, a former convict who is now a prison minister, to build a Christian-based prison in San Angelo, Texas. Robinson's Corrections Concepts Inc. is negotiating with Tom Green County on the details of a $35 million, 624-bed facility. It would be open to prisoners within 30 months of release who volunteer for the program. "They'll walk out with a marketable skill, $1,000 in savings, embraced by a church and committed to their family," Robinson said. Once a final agreement with the county is reached, Robinson must have commitments from state and federal jurisdictions to send at least 310 inmates before his underwriter — an Atlanta-based organization that specializes in selling bonds for church construction — will commit to financing. The American Center for Law and Justice has drafted a legal memo for Corrections Concepts concluding that the proposal is constitutional because all inmates will volunteer for the program.