Only The Lord Can Change Hearts and The Stats In Prison

This ad is funny…But not fun when the rise of number of women incarcerated continues to be on the rise since the 80’s. Most of them have drug convictions or violations. Look at these stats [source: Women's Prison Association]:

~ Over 200,00 women are in prison and jail in United States. More than 1 million women are under criminal justice supervision

There were 115,779 women incarcerated in either state or federal prisons at midyear 2008

• The average daily adult female jail population at midyear 2008 was 99,175

• At year end 2007, there were 987,427 women on probation, representing 23% of the total probation population.

• Women represented 12% of the parole population (98,923 women) in 2007

The number of women in prison has grown by over 800% in the past three decades
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• The female prison population grew by 832% from 1977 to 2007. The male prison population grew 416% during the same time period

• Oklahoma has the highest female imprisonment rate at 134 per 100,000 women. Massachusetts has the lowest rate of female imprisonment at 13 per 100,000 women

Two thirds of women in prison are there for non-violent offenses, many for drug-related crimes.

• Twenty-eight percent of women in state prison at year end 2005 were sentenced for drug offenses. Property offenses accounted for another 28% of the female state prison population.

Together, property and drug crimes – non-violent offenses – make up nearly 2/3 of the population of women in prison. At yearend 2005, 35% of women in prison were convicted of violent offenses

• Over 2.5 million women were arrested in 2007, accounting for nearly a quarter of all arrests. The arrests of women increased nearly seven percent from 1998 to 2007

• In the five-year period from 2003 to 2007, arrests of women for drug violations increased 29%, compared to 15% for men




Remember them in your prayers and ask God to transform the lives of these inmates, both women and men.

Change in our hearts only comes from the Lord. Nothing or no one else can.

Ezekiel 36:26-27 - “26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” [NIV]


1 Peter 3:8-10 - “8Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. 9Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. 10For, "Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech.” [NIV]

Luke 6:35- “But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.” [NIV]