Christian Living
Larry Lilly's Letter Monday April 16, 2007
Incarcerated Mothers/Children "And the cares of a mother to soothe and beguile," This line from John Howard Payne's "Home Sweet Home" has comforted the struggling souls of the human race since the day Payne wrote them. There is no place like home.
In a magnificent piece, February 23, 2007 CNN's Anderson Cooper wrote:
The women's prison population has grown 757 percent from 1977 through 2005, according to the Institute on Women and Criminal Justice * 70 percent the women in prison or under correctional supervision are mothers, according to the Department of Justice * 1.3 million children are affected, according to the Department of Justice.
These numbers are staggering and the Lord's people should at least spend a little time in prayer for this pending disaster. A response in the comment section of Mr. Cooper's article stated:
To Betty Ann, Tx: I'll tell you how mothers end up in jail. The mother of my nieces was abandoned by her mom when she was a toddler. Her father didn't want to take care of her either, so she ended up with a bitter aunt and a grandmother. She never had one rational person in her life to teach her anything good. Therefore when she became a mother, she had nothing to pass on to her children and she abandoned them too. She became addicted to prescription drugs as a way to alleviate her pain and eventually ended up in jail because of it. Because of this situation, I became involved with Big Brother/Big Sister. Every child needs someone who thinks they are special and worth taking care of. I see no blame to be placed on anyone, only compassion that needs to be extended. Posted By S L, Tampa, FL : 3:18 PM ET
Anderson's closing remark put a very human face on the problem:
A child with a parent in prison is five to six times more likely than other children to spend time in prison at some point in their lives.
I could not find stats for the number of mothers on Death Row in the United States. But I have several on my list, and from the mail I receive they are true Mothers in their heart. On March 5, 2007 I told about Cathy Henderson and part of the story stated that Cathy was scheduled to be executed on April 18th. I received word that Cathy has been granted a stay until June 13, 2007. We are praying for a reprieve, even an overturning on her behalf. Her girls, Melissa, Amber and Jennifer know more about the pain of Death Row than most of us who write about it either pro or con. As I said in the article, "Jennifer, now 17 hasn't seen her mother except through a Plexiglas window and talking through a phone since she was five years old." Write and ask for the March 5th article and I will send it to you free.
Melissa, Amber and Jennifer unlike most of the 1.3 million children whose mothers are in prison face the grim reality that they will never again hug mom.
I am certain that mothers on Death Row whisper a prayer to God for the welfare of their children. We must join in that prayer with these mothers. Caroline Norton wrote:
"Holy as heaven a mother's tender love, the love of many prayers and many tears which changes not with dim passing years."
Larry Lilly Copyright © 2007 Use with credit
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