Inmates find life of purpose

Religious studies are credited with cutting violence at the center.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- Officials are crediting religious studies with cutting inmate violence at a prison routinely torn by race-based gang attacks.
To date, 440 medium-security inmates at Sierra Conservation Center have participated in the program based on the best-selling book, "The Purpose Driven Life," by the Rev. Rick Warren.
The participants represent about a third of the unit's 1,200 inmates, about 125 of them serving life sentences.
The book has 40 chapters; participants read one each day, reflecting on and discussing the relevance to their lives. The Rev. Mr. Warren's church in Orange County has donated the books, Bibles, study materials and videos.
"We couldn't go more than two weeks without a lockdown or without one gang attacking another," said Hector Lozano, who coordinates the prison's substance abuse treatment programs. "This got people talking together, as opposed to having one group charge another group."
The first 200 inmates completed the program in April 2003.
Comparisons
During the previous year, there were five riots, 103 violent episodes, four staff assaults, 1,226 inmate disciplinary reports and five lockdowns.
In the year since, there was one riot, 67 violent episodes, four staff assaults, 1,067 inmate disciplinary reports and one lockdown.
The religious program "has definitely played a role," said prison spokesman Lt. Kenny Calhoun. He also credited the prison's staff.
The inmates formed a nondenominational church, Sierra Christian Center, and give sermons in English and Spanish. They set up a table in the exercise yard on what they've designated "holy ground," where Christians and non-Christians gather to worship.
"It took off like wildfire," Calhoun said.
Four months ago, the prison spun off a Bible-based 12-step program, also sponsored by Mr. Warren's church, to help inmates deal with alcohol and substance abuse; emotional, physical and sexual abuse; and other problems. One hundred inmates are participating. Prison officials are proposing to expand the program.
About the prison
Sierra Conservation Center's main role is preparing minimum-security inmates for 20 firefighting camps. But the prison, in Jamestown, also houses the medium-security unit, which had been plagued by race-based gang violence.
"The Bible tells us we're supposed to minister in prisons," Lozano said. "From a strictly prison-management perspective, it's a win-win situation. The inmate feels better, we feel better, and nobody gets hurt."