Volume 31, Issue 2, Fall/Winter 2011
Kathryn Getek Soltis
Pages 113-130
Mass Incarceration and Theological Images of Justice
THE NUMBINGLY HIGH RATE OF INCARCERATION IN THE UNITED STATES poses a challenge to our images of justice, particularly given the indirect consequences for families and communities. Two key theological sources for justice, the lex talionis and the (mis)interpretation of Anselmian satisfaction, offer key insights for adjudicating between restoration and retribution. Yet a Christian ethical response capable of addressing mass incarceration must also examine the collateral consequences of imprisonment. This essay ultimately argues for an image of justice that, while sensitive to restoration and retribution, is also attentive to community membership and the full scope of human relationality.