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| Florida Prisons Turning to Religion |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 09/03/2001 |
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Cesar Cruz lived the thug life until it landed him behind bars at 17 for threatening people with a gun. Now 17 months before he's due to be released, Cruz is hoping a new faith found in a kind of Bible camp inside prison walls will keep him from the life he's known. Cruz is one of 32 young inmates at Hillsborough Correctional Institution who are part of a statewide, $4.5 million effort to provide specialized services and housing to religious inmates and hire additional chaplains and counselors at seven prisons. Florida Department of Corrections officials have created 'faith-based' dormitories at those prisons. When the program is complete, 400 religious inmates will live separately from other prisoners and spend their days immersed in religious services and study, specialized counseling and a mandatory daily devotional period. Florida prison officials gave the first look inside the program recently. Hillsborough opened its faith-based dormitory in November, following the lead of Tomoka Correctional, a Daytona Beach-area prison that created a separate dorm for religious inmates in 1999. Five other Florida prisons are scheduled to open their faith-based dormitories by May. Programs and worship schedules are adapted to Christians, Muslims, Buddhists and other faiths. Some services are conducted in Spanish. Corrections officials are banking on the theory that inmates who get time for intense soul searching might be able to come to terms with their troubled lives and change. The program comes with the blessing of Gov. Jeb Bush. A similar effort was introduced in Texas in 1997 when his brother, President George W. Bush, was governor. 'You can lock them up and you can correct them,' Florida Department of Corrections Secretary Michael Moore said. 'One of the governor's priorities is prevention and treatment.' Similar faith-based programs are being planned for five federal prisons as part of the president's initiative. A state prison in Iowa also has been operating a faith dormitory since 1999. |
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