Credit byWalter Gurbo
“Ruining Lives with Criminal ‘Justice’” (NY Times, 7/30/15), Doug Deason, president of Deason Capital Services and the Deason Foundation, tells how he made a mistake when he was 17, and, with legal help, was lucky to get a second chance. [Use his story to practice discerning God’s work in a wholly secular report.] So many, especially minorities, are not and end up with prison tme and a record that makes rejoining society and leading a fulfilling life virtually impossible. Wanting to end such misery, Doug worked with the Texas governor’s office to pass a bipartisan “second chances” bill that provides a way to nondisclosure of the records of first-time criminals with low-level, non-violent offenses. A similar biblical theme: “. . . He has sent me to proclaim release for captives . . .” (Luke 4:18). In this wholly secular telling, can you discern where Jesus’ spirit, the Holy Spirit given to all (Joel 2:28 and Acts 2:4-12), was at work in Deason’s story? A first thought is surely the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, was part of his choosing to make a change. Go to http://nyti.ms/1fLp6OV