Dear Fellow Prisoner of Christ,
May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the name of Jesus Christ. It’s my great pleasure to invite you to join Clergy for Prison Reform (CPR), a new Christian organization made up of servant leaders like you called to address the current state of Mississippi’s corrections system.

CJ Rhodes, MDiv

In Mississippi, we lock up more people per capita than China and Russia combined and have the second highest incarceration rate in the country. There are numerous reasons for this development – harsh sentencing guidelines, lack of rehabilitation, etc. – but one of the most disturbing to me is the corporatization of the prison system and the profit-driven incentive to lock up as many people as possible, keep them there as long as possible, and make sure they return to prison as many times as possible.
Our for-profit prison industry has received recent attention with the indictment of now former Mississippi Department of Corrections Commissioner Chris Epps for his accepting bribes from these same companies.
These for-profit companies in Mississippi also have abysmal records of inhumane conditions, lack of supervision, poor mental health and other healthcare services, prisoner abuse and violence – all while raking in $77 million per year of Mississippi taxpayer funds for their shareholders. Currently, legislators and other leaders are rightly looking into these companies and asking whether Mississippi should be doing business with them at all.
Several weeks ago, I helped organize a breakfast for a diverse and dedicated group of pastors and lay leaders to discuss how we may advocate for a better system. Though several civil and human rights groups are actively engaged in this fight from political and economic vantages, it will be the presence of the church that will change the conscience of Mississippi. This is a debate in which your moral voice matters.
Over the next few months, Clergy for Prison Reform hopes to raise a collective chorus of Mississippi’s faith leaders from across political, racial and denominational backgrounds. I hope you will be in that number.
Prayerfully, Clergy for Prison Reform will advocate in the power of Christ’s Spirit for a more just and righteous and humane criminal justice system. Time is of the essence. We cannot wait. Please join me in this good fight for the least of these.
Please also forward this invitation to all in your network who might be interested in joining our efforts.
In the name of the convicted, crucified and resurrected Jesus Christ,
CJ Rhodes, MDiv
Pastor, Mount Helm Baptist Church
Director of Student Religious Life
Alcorn State University