We are number one in the world

The latest statistics are in. The U.S. leads the world in imprisonment. We have nearly 2.4 million prison cells and over 99% of them are occupied. No other developed nation has imprisonment rates that even come close to ours. It is difficult to look at these numbers and not think about grace.

The example God sets is forgiveness and mercy. Jesus reminds his followers to emulate those qualities in our dealings with others. So why have we collectively as a nation become so punitive and vengeful?

There are some obvious reasons. One is greed. Our politicians have fostered a rapidly growing for-profit prison system. These companies, in turn, lobby for mandatory minimum sentences that are growing ever longer and make generous campaign contributions to politicians to expand the prison populations. In short, our justice system has been subverted to serve the needs of corporations that run prisons. It is very big business. Here are the numbers for GEO, one of the largest prison companies.

In 2012, Geo (GEO) had revenue of $1.48 billion, up from $569 million 10 years earlier, with net income of $135 million. George Zoley, its chairman and chief executive officer, received almost $6 million last year, including a $2.2 million bonus for profit surpassing targets, according to company filings.

In order to maintain the cancerous growth in profits to keep stock prices rising, these companies need more prisoners and less staff, which has led to deplorable conditions at many facilities. Walnut Grove, a private prison in Mississippi for juvenile offenders, even attracted national attention for inmate violence and sexual abuse by staff. Curiously, these companies have kept their records secret despite receiving boatloads of taxpayer money.

No national data tracks whether the facilities are run as well as public ones, and private-prison lobbyists for years have successfully fought efforts to bring them under federal open-records law. Yet regulatory, court and state records show that the industry has repeatedly experienced the kind of staffing shortages and worker turnover that helped produce years of chaos at Walnut Grove.

The Apostle Paul warned that love of money was the root of all kinds of evil. He was right. You cannot love money and love others as Jesus commanded us to do. The temptation to chase after money is too great, even when our neighbors are stripped of dignity and hope as a consequence.

Racism and classism also play a role. Our prison populations are dominated by poor blacks and Hispanics. Again, these are remarkable failures to love others. The privileged, on the other hand, can get away with theft on a grand scale and even murder.

The hope of John Winthrop in 1630 was that America would become a model of Christian charity. Justice and mercy in our dealings with others were the cornerstones of that model. Instead of becoming that shining city on a hill, we set the bar high for vindictiveness and shameful treatment of others in service of greed. Since our politicians and religious leaders love to quote Winthrop, it would be wise to heed his warning.

For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us. So that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken, and so cause Him to withdraw His present help from us, we shall be made a story and a by-word through the world. We shall open the mouths of enemies to speak evil of the ways of God, and all professors for God's sake. We shall shame the faces of many of God's worthy servants, and cause their prayers to be turned into curses upon us till we be consumed out of the good land whither we are going.

We cannot claim to emulate God's grace when we imprison millions out of fear, hatred, and greed. Time for a little soul searching.