Criminal Justice

To love simple narratives and binary problems is hard-wired into us. A world of stark black-and-white is nowhere near as scary as one where it’s not always clear who the good guys are. For Christians, this notion is especially appealing to us because the Divine…

I can remember sitting through D.A.R.E. education in 5th grade, using a piece of chalk to represent a marijuana cigarette and practicing what we would do if a friend offered us a joint. We were taught to “Just say No,” and there was a heavy…

In the past year, the nation’s attention has been repeatedly drawn back and forth from Ferguson to New York City as events in the two cities have had an eerie and disturbing resonance with one another. From an officer-involved death that set off controversy in Ferguson to…

Just over a week ago, I wrote an article for this site calling for us not to rush to judgment in the Ferguson case, to review what was available of the record, and to consider fruitful paths forward. An initiative for moving forward that has been advocated…

At around 8:30pm last night, County Prosecutor Rob McCulloch announced that the grand jury looking into the officer-involved shooting of Michael Brown had decided not to indict the officer, Darren Wilson, on any charges.  This decision sparked several peaceful protests around the country in addition…

The Criminal Justice System is designed to protect the flourishing of society by helping to establish and enforce behavioral guidelines for social interactions.  Although the powers of this world do not recognize it, this designed purpose is actually a divine mandate.  The Lord says “It…