A seminary behind bars

The Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, a private college based in Fort Worth, Texas, began its bachelor of science in biblical studies programme at Darrington Unit about three years ago.

To be accepted on the course, offenders must have a good behaviour record, the appropriate academic credentials and they must be at least 10 years from the possibility of parole.

The programme is largely paid for by charitable contributions from the Heart of Texas Foundation and has more than 150 prisoners enrolled.

It plans to send its graduates as field ministers to other units who want the bible college alumni for peer counselling and spiritual guidance. The first degrees are expected to be conferred next year.

A cross hangs around the neck of an offender at the seminary, where the programme is based on a similar one at the Angola unit of the Louisiana penitentiary system.

It is aimed at reducing violence inside and recidivism for those who are released at no additional expense to taxpayers.

According to Ben Phillips, the director of the Darrington programme and an associate professor at the Southwestern Seminary, one goal is to instil accountability in students who will then take the message to the general prison population.

Students search for books at a library in the prison seminary, which is beginning a new school year with a senior class enrolled in courses such as "American Religious Movements," "Theological Issues in Prison," "New Testament" and "Contemporary Issues in American Culture."

The students, mostly Christian with a few Muslim and Jewish students among their ranks, have a reading list that ranges from the Bible to Aristotle to 19th century French historian Alexis de Tocqueville.

Dressed in white prison uniforms, offenders write papers on desktop computers cut off from the Internet in a crowded section of the prison that houses their seminary branch. For research, they rely on the library stocked with books on religion.

The Texas prison system, which has 150,000 inmates, is counting on the seminary school to calm its population.

"Part of TDCJ's core mission is to promote a positive change in offender behavior. We believe these men will be a powerful voice for other offenders as they complete this program and go out to other prisons," the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said in a statement.