Federal prison in Oklahoma becomes first in US to welcome Prison Fellowship rehabilitation program
By Kilee Thomas
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EL RENO, Oklahoma (KOCO) — Oklahoma is now leading the way in a new effort to reduce repeat crimes with a first-in-the-nation program inside an El Reno prison.
The Federal Correctional Institution in El Reno is the first in the U.S. to offer a new rehabilitation program aimed at breaking the cycle of incarceration. Joshua Smith, the deputy director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, traveled to Oklahoma for the milestone.
On Thursday, leaders launched the program that is built on one simple principle: no one is beyond redemption.
“We are better than yesterday. Not done yet!” a group chanted outside the prison.
Outside the barbed wire and security checkpoints at FCI El Reno was a celebration of second chances. Supporters said the goal is to give the men inside the tools they need to build a different future, one that Smith knows personally.
“At 21, I was sentenced to federal prison for my role in drugs,” Smith said. “It was in prison that I had an experience with God that changed the trajectory of my life.”
Leaders said that kind of transformation is the goal of Prison Fellowship, a faith-based nonprofit that works with inmates to help them change the course of their lives before they reenter society.
“I’m thankful I work in an administration that’s tough on crime but at the same time understanding these people are coming back to our communities, and we better be restorative in nature,” Smith said.
Prison Fellowship’s academies have operated in state prisons for years, including prisons across Oklahoma.
Now, FCI El Reno is the first federal prison in the country to offer one.
“Most of these men in El Reno behind this barbed wire here, they’re going to be our neighbors, and not only can they come home and be good neighbors, they can come home and contribute so much to their families, to their churches, businesses,” Heather Rice-Minus, president and CEO of Prison Fellowship, said.
Ray James once stood where those men behind bars are. Thirteen years ago, he was released from the El Reno prison for drug use.
Now, he works with Prison Fellowship as the academy program manager, helping other incarcerated men believe change is possible.
“I wanted to give back, and I wanted to let them realize change is possible, and they’re not stuck where they’re at,” James said.
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