LIBERTY LEGAL JOURNAL Spring/Summer 2016 | Page 13

both of which have since helped to massively increase the U.S. prison
population. Reagan proclaimed that these reforms were part of his
mission to create “balance between the forces of law and the forces of
lawlessness.”13 Today, conservatives are still leading the charge for new
mandatory minimum laws, representing the debate as one of good
versus evil, and the rule of law versus lawlessness. Some conservatives
accuse lawmakers who oppose these laws of being “poster boy[s] for
anarchy,” or of “playing political games” with the safety of the American people.14
In contrast, those on the liberal side of the political spectrum tend to
favor lowering penalties and the overall rate of imprisonment. They
proclaim that the American penal system is racist and that the disproportionate incarceration of minorities is the result of decades of
institutional bias. Some even go so far as to call the penal system “the
new Jim Crow,” or “a 21st-century version of a race class caste system
that victimizes families and whole communities.”15
Caught in the middle of this political posturing are people like Patrick Matthews. In 2009, when Matthews stole a welding machine
and a generator from a shed, he did not know that under Louisiana’s
Habitual Offender law, a conviction for a third felony would force
the court to sentence him to life in prison. Even though one of the
judges who reviewed Matthews’ conviction did not “believe that the
ends of justice [were] met by a mandatory sentence,” the law denied
the judges any discretion to reduce his sentence.16 Matthews does not
claim to be innocent, and his guilt is not in debate. What should be
in question is the justice of his sentence. If Matthews survives the very
prison conditions that comedians joke about and lives out his natural

Erin Fuchs, A Young Dad, BUSINESS INSIDER (Nov. 13, 2013), http://www.businessinsider.com/patrick-w-matthews-mandatory-minimum-sentence-2013-11.
1

Id.

2

State v. Matthews, 2010 La. App. Unpub. LEXIS 748, at *2 (La.App. 1 Cir. Dec. 22,
2010). See Erin Fuchs, A Young Dad, BUSINESS INSIDER (Nov. 13, 2013), http://www.
businessinsider.com/patrick-w-matthews-mandatory-minimum-sentence-2013-11.
3

Id.

4

Erin Fuchs, A Young Dad, BUSINESS INSIDER (Nov. 13, 2013), http://www.businessinsider.com/patrick-w-matthews-mandatory-minimum-sentence-2013-11.
5

Roy Walmsley,World Prison Population List, King’s College, London, International Centre
for Prison Studies, http://www.prisonstudies.org/sites/default/files/resources/downloads/
wppl-8th_41.pdf (last visited Jan. 31, 2016).
6

Id.

7

Id.

8

Id.

9

Id.

10

life, he could easily spend more than half of the 21st century in prison.
For stealing tools.
Matthews may spend half a century in prison because both sides of
the debate have lost a conception of what justice is. Neither party
bothers to appeal to a true concept of justice to substantiate its viewpoint. Conservatives seek to claim moral high ground by promoting
vigorous law enforcement and presenting lengthy prison sentences as
a solution for repeated criminal behavior. Liberals seek to claim moral
high ground by promoting empathy and blaming criminality on environmental and social factors. Both sides promote legislation aimed
at solving these problems, and making communities safer. If noble
intentions and moral outrage solved problems, all would surely be
well. But even well-placed moral outrage translated into law does not
necessarily equal justice.
The concept of justice in law has been lost because Americans no
longer recognize the supremacy of the perfect and just Lawgiver. This
Lawgiver commands us to do justice and to love mercy.17 He commands us to receive instruction in wisdom, justice, judgment, and
equity.18 God does not command us to take our moral outrage, our
desire for safe communities, or our fear of personal harm and translate those feelings into law. He commands us to do the hard work
of seeking true justice and combining it with true mercy. Christian
conservatives are uniquely placed to offer guidelines for a truly just
penal system. We have the principles to guide a penal system that
pursues laws based on biblical principles of justice, retribution, and
restoration. If Christ came to set captives free, we should care enough
about captives to give them true justice.

Gerald Shargel, No Mercy, SLATE (June 14, 2004), http://www.slate.com/articles/
news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2004/06/no_mercy.html; Carrie Johnson, 20 Years Later,
Parts of Major Crime Bill Viewed as Terrible Mistake, NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO (Sept.
12, 2014), http://www.npr.org/2014/09/12/347736999/20-years-later-major-crime-billviewed-as-terrible-mistake.
11

National Statistics on Recidivism, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF JUSTICE, http://
www.nij.gov/topics/corrections/recidivism/pages/welcome.aspx (last visited Jan. 31, 2016).
12

Gerald Shargel, No Mercy, SLATE (June 14, 2004), http://www.slate.com/articles/
news_and_politic