On-line Interview with Marianne Williamson

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Online Noetic Network Interview with Marianne Williamson

ONN Joel: In a spiritually conscious society, what would our prisons look like?

Marianne Williamson: In the most enlightened society, there would be no prisons because there would be no crime. Obviously, we have a long way to go before that is true. But one of the ways we can commit to the path towards that reality is to shift our consciousness around prisons in particular and in criminal justice in general. Particularly, what is at issue is our worldview: either you believe in the ultimate reality of guilt or you believe in the ultimate reality of God's grace. Faith in God's grace means faith in people's capacity to change, and thus to be rehabilitated. We can't believe in a redeemed America if we don't believe in redemption. Prison can have an atonement value for some people, and certain criminals clearly belong there. Prison obviously still has a real function.

But the consciousness around prisons in America today is laden with a consciousness of guilt and punishment, with far too little emphasis on the genuine rehabilitation of people's lives. Thus, our prisons are universities of crime, where even small-time criminals go and learn how to be big-time criminals.

Most violent crime in America is committed by people who have already served time in jail. In Texas, when Ann Richards was governor, she introduced drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs into the Texas prison system. The rate of recidivism during her tenure dropped, in some cases, dramatically.

When the present governor, George Bush, Jr., began his term, one of the first things he did was to withdraw those programs from the prison system -- even though they had worked! He said that, "In Texas, we believe that criminals should be punished." Another example of this: I have a 7 year old daughter. When I'm told not to worry because some rapist has been put away in jail, that hardly makes me feel good. It means he'll be released from prison when my daughter is a gorgeous teenager. I would feel better if I was told that while in jail the rapist was going through some seriously transformative program, by which his life was revitalized and his sanity returned. What we do to others, we ultimately are doing to ourselves. Spiritual law is inescapable and inviolate. As you punish others, you shall be punished.

ONN Joel: In a spiritually conscious societ