Restoration 10:10

According to a report in the Daily Telegraph newspaper prisoners (in the UK) receive a wage for being in jail, they receive a bed, a TV in all cells, Sky television in most areas for recreational use, free telephones, breakfast in bed on many occasions and cash bonuses for good behaviour. It’s also reported that drugs are cheaper to get inside than out on the streets. You can see why the prisons in England and Wales have hit a record high population. With these luxurious conditions available so many criminals are queuing up to serve time in their privileged place behind bars. Why not start a jail company called Thomas Crook? The corporation should offer great late escape deals and provide cheap Butlin type holidays. This includes full board of course. Inmates say that prison food has improved. You can still eat the traditional porridge if you like but you now also have great meal choices with healthy and vegetarian options. It sounds like a holiday camp but Thomas Crook’s great deals do have a downside for law abiding citizens and tax payers. Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act show that one night in a London police cell costs almost twice as much as a room at the Ritz or the Dorchester. Bookings still available call 999.

A ghostly little boy resides in the Victorian surroundings of Wormwood Scrubs. ‘He looks like Casper the ghost’ said a prison warden. But it’s not. It’s wishy-washy looking musician Pete Doherty. The former babyshambles singer is serving a 14 week stretch for breaching his bail terms. The 29 year old star was transferred to a segregated unit for his own protection after it was discovered that inmates had hatched a plot to attack him. But even though Pete’s in solitary confinement, he’s still at risk. In fact he’s in grave danger. No the inmates can’t get to him. But the drugs can. The Sun has revealed this week that Doherty has been injecting smack which had been smuggled into the jail. Pete must get his act together. If not we’ll be reading in the newspapers about his death. His body will be mysteriously found in some dark curtained room. Was it suicide? Or was it murder? Most probably it will be death by miss adventure after overdosing on drugs. Some folks are having a moan about the easy life Doherty has in the slammer. But don’t you believe it. A physical compulsion and a mental obsession to take drugs is a soul destroying demon. But it can be cast out. Pete’s life can be turned around. But he’s not going to manage things on his own. He’ll need a good life recovery programme and the support of his family. But more importantly he has to turn his destiny over to a power greater than himself. I’ve convened the funeral service of middle aged man who took a drug overdose. He was found dead in a park. His mother asked me to talk some sense into his friends. I didn’t want to criticize, I wanted to offer hope. I read out a quote from a junkie who turned to God for help.

“About five in the morning I couldn’t sleep. I had a strange feeling come from my head and through my body. Someone was telling me through my own voice, that I wouldn’t need drugs or alcohol again. The withdrawals stopped and tears were running down my face. They were tears of joy. I felt stronger than the pain that had been in me and I knew I had a chance of new life”. He said that Jesus gave him the strength to overcome his addiction.