Peace Within Reach booklet on PDF
Stan, imprisoned in his body which is falling apart, Uncle Jim, incarcerated in his confused mind, and many others who like the Apostle Paul are truly in chains, do possess this perspective which can carry them through anything — “For me, to live is Christ/Jesus and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21 of the Bible).
Angola Prison is home to some 
5000 men — rapists, robbers, and murderers, 61% of whom will die there. It is a prison that, in the last several years, has been transformed from being one of America’s bloodiest prisons to one alive with hope. Much of this transformation is due to the prison warden, Burl Cain, and to God. When he became warden, Warden Cain erected a huge concrete sculpture at the front gate that reads, “Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14 of the Bible). Every incoming inmate sees it. Throughout the prison and its programs, inmates are encouraged to accept God’s grace and the purpose and meaning for life that it brings, even in prison, encouraging them to live as better men. Even when a punishment of execution is to be carried out, Warden Cain holds the prisoner’s hand, praying for him and telling him that if he trusts in Jesus Christ, he will be met on he other side by an angel who will take his hand from there and guide him home, to heaven. Through the grace and truth of God, the once bloodiest prison in America has become one marked by grace, compassion, love, and hope.
