www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/06/30/eveningnews/main705598.shtml
At Florida's Lawtey Correctional Institution, inmates, like Carlos Fuller , are part of a controversial experiment in rehabilitation. "I go to church in the afternoons and at night," Fuller told CBS News Cor respondent Thalia Assuras. Lawtey is the country's first faith-based prison where every prisoner mus t attend character-improvement programs ranging from GED classes to ange r-management courses. Sitting right up front is Fuller, who's serving three years for aggravate d battery. Most of the classes are taught and paid for by local church v olunteers. The 800 prisoners here are offered services and studies from the Koran to the Bible. Pastor Steve McCoy says fewer men have returned to prison since Lawtey go t religion. " We're about just telling guys, 'Hey, we believe you can do more than you've ever done." Part of the initial success at Lawtey is the inmates themselves. They are accepted based partly on good behavior , and they know that any serious misstep means a transfer out. He charges that inmate s following Lawtey's righteous path have access to many more programs th an Florida's 80,000 other prisoners. "It's not singing 'Amazing Grace' that keeps you from going back to jail, " says Lynn. "It's having a job when you get out and Florida has cut the funding for those kinds of programs." Franchatta Barber, the director of programs for Florida prisons, denies t hey Lawtey is pushing religion. State officials stress prisoners are no longer forced to attend religious services. "It's about change, a life-changing experience through your own personal responsibility as well as your personal growth and your character develo pment," says Barber. "I think God wanted me to come here for some reason," says Fuller. If he hadn't been accepted to Lawtey, Fuller says he'd be "right back whe re I started from, and that's not where I want to be." With good behavior, Fuller will be out next year, but his spot won't be v acant for long.
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