Children of imprisoned parents speak out

A year has passed since Bill C-10, the federal omnibus crime bill, became law. As part of the ongoing discussion of criminal justice—an area in which Mennonites have long been innovators—we present the following perspectives on the question of how Christians can respond to people who break the law.

March 27, 2013 | God at work in the World
Cassandra (left) and Jalon

Government and media often brand people who have committed offences as “bad guys” to be feared and put away. But that’s not how their kids see them. In What Will Happen to Me? a 2011 book, Lorraine Stutzman Amstutz and Howard Zehr, the Mennonite pioneer of restorative justice, present the portraits and words of kids whose parents are behind bars:

‘I missed a lot. Like last year at my school there was a father-daughter dance. My friends asked me what I was wearing, and I said I wasn’t going. I had bought the dress—I don’t know why. I was looking at the dress, imagining just me and my dad. I started crying.’

(Cassandra)

‘My grandma filled in for my mom until she came back. . . . When my mom was gone, I’d cry myself to sleep. . . . I don’t really know my dad. He’s still alive, but I wonder, is he getting hurt in jail or something like that? I want him back so I can be with him. . . . . I want them around so we could have a family.’

(Jalon)

Cassandra (left) and Jalon

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