Faith and Flourishing: Parchman Prison
On September 30th, “Faith and Flourishing: Parchman Prison,” premiered at the Museum of the Bible’s World Stage Theater. The event was co-sponsored with the American Correctional Association. A panel discussion followed the screening to talk about prison reform, themes from cutting-edge social science research on human flourishing and how Christian beliefs and practices have inspired this transformative process. The panel included voices from Parchman Prison (including former prisoners), as well as national leaders within the field of corrections. It was an inspiring event that will provide lessons learned from inside of prison that may well guide how individuals and institutions in the free-world can also flourish in their own contexts.
About The Film
In early 2020, violent riots raged inside of the Mississippi State Penitentiary (aka Parchman Prison). The cellblocks were set ablaze and when the smoke finally cleared, five inmates had been murdered, dozens injured and three men were found dead hanging in their cells. After the State of Mississippi regained control of the prison, Governor Reeves looked over the ashes of the failed prison and said “I’ve seen enough, we have to turn the page.”
To turn the page, Gov. Reeves appointed Burl Cain, the former warden of the Louisiana State Penitentiary (aka Angola), as Commissioner of Mississippi’s Department of Corrections. Commissioner Cain knew Parchman was the key in reforming Mississippi’s correctional system and the challenge of transforming this notorious prison would require a strong, visionary leader. In June 2022, Cain hired Marc McClure as Parchman’s Superintendent and assigned him with a task no other Superintendent had been able to achieve in the institution’s 125 year history: transform Parchman Prison. The results after three years have been nothing short of remarkable. Parchman was widely seen as the poster child of the United States’ failing prison system to a model of reform. It is changing into a place of hope where many staff and inmates are able to flourish and is providing a roadmap for other prisons to follow.
Researchers Byron Johnson and Andrew Johnson (no relation) have spent 3 years conducting social science research inside the prison. This film is an introduction to their findings studying this most unusual correctional experiment and a preview of a larger film project in the works.
“Faith and Flourishing: Parchman Farm” is a (27 minute) documentary film that introduces McClure’s journey to transform the maximum-security prison through a relational model that relies on a deep connection between people staff and inmates and is fueled by faith in God. The State of Mississippi has granted the researchers and film crew unprecedented access to Parchman Prison and they have been able to capture intimate portrayals of prison life and journeys of personal and institutional redemption.