Inmates won't aid churches
Boulder sheriff halts practice after complaint
By Berny Morson, Rocky Mountain News
September 25, 2003
BOULDER - County prisoners will no longer perform work at churches after the
American Civil Liberties Union complained about mixing religion and
rehabilitation.
The ACLU complained to Sheriff Joe Pelle after a neighbor saw a prison crew
doing landscape work at the Sacred Heart of Jesus Roman Catholic Church in
downtown Boulder this summer.
"When prisoners do work for a church, as is the case here, government improperly
provides a financial benefit to religion, and taxpayer funds are improperly
expended to transport and supervise inmate workers," the ACLU said in a July 27
letter to Pelle.
In a memo to the jail captain earlier this week, Pelle said the practice
probably does not violate the constitutionally mandated separation of church and
state. Churches are treated equally with other nonprofit agencies in scheduling
work crews, Pelle said.
But, he added, "The bottom line question here is, is this worth a fight? In my
opinion it is not worth a fight."
He also said there is "plenty of other work for the inmate crews to do."
Judd Golden, the vice chairman of the Boulder County ACLU chapter, said
Wednesday the practice also violates the rights of the prisoners, who may not
want to be involved with the church.
"Certainly someone who has a predilection about religion or a certain religion
may feel uncomfortable putting in their time in a way that's inconsistent with
their beliefs," Golden said.
But Cali Dietrich, the co-business manager at Sacred Heart, said the church
never preached to the inmates.
But the interaction with the church was helpful for the inmates because it
exposed them to a side of life they may have missed in jail or on the street,
Dietrich said.
For example, the church treats the inmates respectfully, and they see church
workers distributing food to poor and homeless people, Dietrich said.
"I think a lot of them (inmates) had some misunderstandings or didn't have much
contact with the churches in the past, and when we treat them like regular
people . . . and we ask them for their help and we ask what special skills they
have, and we talk to them about all the other ministries we have here - that was
very enlightening for many of them," Dietrich said.
Sacred Heart has been receiving inmate help since earlier this year. Because the
church in downtown Boulder has an aging population, the crews were welcome,
Dietrich said.
But Golden said that inmate labor should be used to improve or maintain public
property .
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