'Faith-based' prison to open in Florida.Like his brother in the White House, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush John Ellis "Jeb" Bush (born February 11, 1953) is an American politician, and was the 43rd Governor of Florida as well as the first Republican to be re-elected to that office. He is a prominent member of the Bush family: the younger brother of current President George W. has sought to funnel more government funds and responsibilities to religious organizations. In early December, Bush said his state would be the first in the nation to run a prison using only "faith-based" rehabilitation programs. At a Tampa conference hosted by the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives The White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (OFBCI) is a department under the Office of the President of the United States that was established by President George W. , Bush declared, "Many of the reasons why people are in prison is because of the hollowness of the heart." He said he believes faith-based programs could help those people change their lives. Bush was accompanied by Attorney General John Ashcroft John David Ashcroft (born May 9 1942) is an American politician who was the 79th United States Attorney General. He served during the first term of President George W. Bush from 2001 until 2005. Ashcroft was previously the Governor of Missouri (1985 – 1993) and a U.S. , a longtime backer of government funding of faith-based social services social services Noun, pl welfare services provided by local authorities or a state agency for people with particular social needs social services npl → servicios mpl sociales . Ashcroft scoffed at opponents of the initiative who argue that funneling tax dollars to religious groups violates the First Amendment, according to the St. Petersburg Times
The St. Petersburg Times is a daily newspaper based in St. Petersburg, Florida, that serves the larger Tampa Bay area. . A spokesman for the state's Department of Corrections said the medium-security 800-man prison in Bradford County would operate along religious lines. The Palm Beach Post reported that inmates in the prison "will receive religion-based classes in everything from parenting to character building to job training." Gov. Bush assured those at the press conference that the religiously based prison will not violate the U.S. Constitution, because no "evangelizing" would take place and prisoners will voluntarily choose to enter the faith-based program. Americans United for Separation of Church and State Americans United for Separation of Church and State (Americans United or AU for short) is a religious freedom advocacy group in the United States which promotes the separation of church and state, a legal doctrine seen by the AU as being enshrined in the Establishment , which has filed a lawsuit against a faith-based prison program in Iowa, criticized the Florida plan. AU Executive Director Barry W. Lynn Reverend Barry W. Lynn (born 1948 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania) has been the Executive Director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State since 1992.[1] told several Florida newspapers the Florida plan raises serious constitutional concerns. "It is clearly unconstitutional to build what amounts to a church prison at taxpayer expense," Lynn told the Jacksonville Times-Union. "This is something we're going to be looking at very carefully." Bush will attend an inaugural Mass at the prison on Christmas Eve to kick off the new program, the St. Petersburg Times reported. |
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