Brett Abrams was only 14 years old when he was convicted of second-degree murder in 1984. Since 1993, he has been eligible for parole, yet he has been denied every single time, despite being a strong candidate on paper. Over his 40 years of incarceration in a North Carolina maximum-security prison, he has accrued only 11 infractions—the last in 2005, and has spent five days a week working a full-time job at a meat packaging plant. Abrams has spent the majority of his life incarcerated, a reality often described as “death by incarceration.”  Cases like Abrams’ raise a fundamental question: how […]

Since June 2025, the Religious Liberty Commission (RLC) has hosted a series of hearings exploring the past, present, and future of religious liberty in America. While these hearings have largely reflected agreement among panelists, the Commission’s fifth hearing—focused on antisemitism—revealed deeper disagreements, particularly around whether anti-Zionism should be understood as antisemitism. These disagreements raise an important and longstanding question: What role, if any, should government play in resolving religious or doctrinal disputes? Answering this question requires clarity about the proper role of government itself. From a public justice perspective, government is responsible for upholding justice for all people and institutions in […]

As Psalm 68:5-6 (ESV) reminds us, “Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation. God settles the solitary in a home; he leads out the prisoners to prosperity, but the rebellious dwell in a parched land.” The causes of adoption and care for vulnerable children sit close to the Lord’s heart.  Adoption almost always begins with loss and grief. Yet, adoption can work toward the rebuilding of a family unit as God designed, where each child flourishes in a safe and nurturing environment, where they know they belong. Each year in the United States, around […]

Three years after being released from state prison, 24-year-old Valentino Valdez, struggling to find treatment for mental health issues, was hospitalized for suicidal ideation. Cycling through detention facilities had strained his mental health, and the lack of standardized treatment exacerbated the difficulties he faced. Incarcerated youth are at increased risk of many health conditions, yet medical care for this population is highly unstandardized. Care often varies between counties and is frequently used as a last resort rather than a foundation for long-term health. This lack of consistent care subjects youth to unequal protection against illness and disease, a troubling gap in […]

At 16 years old, Edward Simms stood in a Virginia courtroom and was told by a judge that he was ‘irredeemable.’ Raised in a single-parent household by a mother who had him while she was still a minor, Simms experienced an unstable childhood. He left home at age 12 to live with his aunt, who later went to prison. At 16, Simms was arrested after committing three armed robberies in the span of a few weeks. Due to Virginia’s newly enacted three-strikes law, he was declared ineligible for parole and sentenced to life in prison. Think back to your own teenage […]