Dept. of Corrections Commisssioner discusses prison ministry programs

by Tom Crann, Minnesota Public Radio

St. Paul, Minn. — A federal appeals court has ruled that an evangelical Christian ministry operating in Iowa prisons cannot continue to receive state funding.

The court upheld a decision that public funding for the Prison Fellowship Ministries program violates the constitutional separation of church and state.

A similar program operates in Minnesota prisons in Lino Lakes and Shakopee.

Minnesota's Commissioner for Department of Corrections Joan Fabian discussed the programs with "All Things Considered" host Tom Crann.

Broadcast Dates

• All Things Considered, 12/04/2007, 5:19 p.m.