Exploring Miers’ work in support of prisoner re-entry

In my first reaction post to the nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court, I guessed that she had no track record on sentencing-related issues.  But apparently I spoke too soon: thanks to this post a Law Dork, I see that President Bush’s statement this morning mentioned Miers’ work “to support better legal representation for the poor and under-served” and her service “as a leader with more than a dozen community groups and charities, including … Exodus Ministries ….”  And Exodus Ministries, it seems, is a spiritual organization devoted to assisting prisoner re-entry.

According to its website, “Exodus Ministry is a non-denominational Christian organization established to assist ex-offenders and their families become productive members of society by meeting both their spiritual and physical needs.”  And this page and this page on the organization’s website makes these interesting statements about crime, punishment and re-entry issues:

Most people in prison today are captives of generations of poverty and lawlessness…. At EXODUS, we recognize that recently released and paroled ex-offenders need help. In addition to their need for intimate knowledge of the saving grace of Jesus Christ, these individuals and their families also need a sense of belonging and acceptance.  Most need a place to live.  Some need counseling, including treatment for drug and alcohol dependence.

Ex-offenders returning to the community are in need of a loving and accepting Church, a place to live, a job, transportation and an environment that enhances physical, emotional and spiritual healing.

In the days ahead, I will be very interested to hear more about Miers’ work with this organization, and more generally about her perspectives on a range of criminal justice issues.  It is already fascinating to consider how Miers’ work with Exodus Ministries might influence her views on the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishments or on other brewing constitutional issues like broad residency restrictions for released sex offenders or state establishment of faith-based prisons.