Could Modern Faith-Based Prison Programs Have Survived Constitutional Scrutiny During Reconstruction?
Scott L. Tindle, 60 Ala. L. Rev. 1293 (2009)
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This Note will focus on the common understanding of the Establishment Clause during Reconstruction in the time surrounding the formation and ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Specifically, I will try and discern if the modern version of faith-based prisons, currently being implemented throughout the country, would have been considered acceptable under the Establishment Clause at the time of the framing and ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment. This is important because the Fourteenth Amendment re-ratifies our understanding of the Establishment Clause and what the Establishment Clause means in regards to the individual states. As states begin to develop and implement faith-based prison programs, it is important for us to understand how the Reconstruction Congress intended the Establishment Clause to interact with the states.
