Rehabilitation in Mexico’s Prisons

By Awake! writer in Mexico

REHABILITATION is sometimes given as a reason why criminals are put in prison. However, incarceration alone cannot rehabilitate a prisoner. The motivation to change must come from within the person’s mind and heart, followed by sincere repentance for past wrongdoing and a desire to behave differently. In many prisons throughout the world, successful rehabilitation has been attained through Bible education carried out by Jehovah’s Witnesses. Let us take a look at their program in Mexico.

Jehovah’s Witnesses visit 150 prisons in Mexico, providing a program of Bible reading and education in morals and Bible doctrines. In the penitentiary in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, for instance, ministers of Jehovah’s Witnesses regularly preach to the some 1,200 prisoners. The inmates have great respect for them and even protect them from dangerous circumstances. Once, when a riot broke out in that prison, some of the fiercest convicts quelled the mob so that the Witnesses could leave safely.

The May 8, 2001, issue of Awake! with the cover series “Can Prisoners Be Reformed?” attracted the attention of inmates and prison authorities alike. In the penitentiary in San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora, 12 Witnesses distributed 2,149 copies of the magazine.

When genuine interest in the Bible is found, Jehovah’s Witnesses return week after week to teach Bible classes and conduct religious services. To what extent has this Bible education program been effective in changing prisoners’ lives?

Prisoners Become Christian Ministers

Jorge had already started a life of crime before he turned 20 years of age. After he served a 13-year sentence in the penitentiary at Islas Marías, he was released. Soon, though, he slipped back into the criminal business of drug trafficking. A professional gunman, he learned to follow orders to kill and was eventually responsible for killing 32 people. In prison again, he was informed by his lawyers that his former crime bosses were willing to pay a large sum of money to free him. The crime bosses wanted him out of prison so they could order him to assassinate one more person. But by this time Jorge was studying the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses. He had progressed spiritually to the point of baptism and had become a full-time preacher, or pioneer minister, in the prison. Would he accept freedom and work for the drug lords again or stay in prison and serve Jehovah? “I prefer to stay in prison and pay for the bad things I have done,” Jorge answered. “Now I serve Jehovah God, the Sovereign Lord.” Jorge remained  faithful to God and died with the hope of a resurrection. His spiritual companions say of him, “He ‘knew the truth and the truth set him free.’”​—John 8:32.

David, who is serving a prison sentence of 110 years for homicide, kidnapping, and theft, is confined to a high-security unit for dangerous criminals. However, because of the remarkable changes in his conduct since he started studying the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses, he received special permission to attend a meeting under guard outside this unit. His life has been transformed according to Bible requirements, so that he now participates in the preaching work and is conducting eight Bible studies with other inmates in the unit. His own family is so impressed by the changes he has made that they go to him for Bible lessons. David says, “I never tire of thanking Jehovah for giving me spiritual freedom.”

As a result of the Bible education program carried out by Jehovah’s Witnesses, 175 rehabilitated inmates in 79 prisons in Mexico are approved for the preaching work, and 80 of these are baptized. They conduct a total of 703 Bible studies with other prisoners. Additionally, some 900 inmates attend the Christian meetings held in the prisons.

Praise From Authorities

Prison authorities recognize the work that Jehovah’s Witnesses do. For example, the officials at the penitentiary in Tekax, Yucatán, gave them a certificate of acknowledgment for their “valuable altruistic and humanitarian support” of the prisoners during the year 2002.

When the Bible education program by the Witnesses was first started at this prison, their group meetings were held under the strict surveillance of several guards. But, over time, as the personality of the prisoners improved, the group won the respect of the guards, until just one was posted to keep watch over them.

The penitentiary in Ciudad Juárez has its own Kingdom Hall. Permission was granted to take in construction materials to convert an abandoned metal-frame structure into a place of worship. The 13 baptized inmates and their prison Bible students did all the construction work. The hall has a sound system, a bathroom, theater seats, and a seating capacity of 100. About 50 people regularly attend the five weekly meetings.

Yes, rehabilitation is possible through Bible education. Just as the Bible character Manasseh​—a Judaean king who committed great badness and was a prisoner in Babylon—​repented and prayed for forgiveness, prisoners today can transform their personalities and become God-fearing individuals.​—2 Chronicles 33:12, 13.

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Baptism inside a prison

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Full-time ministers and their instructors at a Pioneer Service School inside a prison