In all the time I spent in prison I heard of riots occurring occasionally, though none ever happened during the time that I was at any facility. In fact, unity among inmates was rare. Occasionally we got together to stand up against an unjust situation, but it never even came close to a riot. Most of the time, disunity was common. Many of the inmates were too scared to buck, and even those who had the courage to take a stand realized it was a losing cause because there would be too few to stand with them. But the disunity went deeper than that. It delved into race and criminal charges.
There were interracial friendships in the prisons I was at, and that was certainly true among us who were Christians. But there was also tension, particularly between whites and blacks, although at times tensions arose between Hispanics and other races, too. Then there were the crimes. In prison, sex offenders are reviled. About the only place they can have some safety is at majority sex-offender prisons or in sex offender dorms. Even at places like these, those who are not convicted sex offenders often look down on those who are, and sex offenders themselves sometimes look down on each other based on who their victims were. On top of all this, there has been a dramatic increase in gang activity in prisons in a number of states, including Georgia where I’m from. Division is everywhere, an ironic situation indeed considering the common threads between all of us who have served prison time.
Common Threads Between Us
There are a number of factors that all criminal offenders have in common. Because of today’s “woke” system that politicizes and racializes so many things, I have selected less polarized and therefore more likely contributing factors to persons becoming criminals: Substance abuse and addiction; antisocial personality/cognition; criminal peers/social environment; family/relationship dysfunction; low educational or work achievement; poverty and social class; numerous barriers to employment, housing, and education upon release from prison; mental health disorders; and childhood trauma. [1]
For sex offenders, contributing factors include: Childhood physical, sexual, or emotional abuse; dysfunctional relationships and environment; substance abuse and mental health issues; antisocial personality traits; and cognitive distortions. These factors, particularly early victimization,…are highly correlated with the development of sexual offending behavior. [2] Despite some differences, many of the negative factors in the backgrounds of sex offenders are the same as those in the backgrounds of other criminal offenders. Of course, there are those who commit crimes even when coming from good backgrounds, but those who come from bad backgrounds are much more common. For all our division and finger-pointing at one another, the vast majority of us have these issues. These are common threads between us.
Another thing we as convicted felons share is the system’s hatred of us. Be it the government, employers, renters, and even sometimes churches (especially for sex offenders), there is a system out there that is set up for us to fail. Many people see us as the scum of the earth, and they see sex offenders as the scum of the scum. They don’t want any of us to ever have success again. In their eyes we should always suffer for what we did in spite of the fact that implicit in release from prison is a second chance. While it is true that there are those who root for us and want to help, there are many more who, as far as they are concerned, think that we should never have even gotten out of prison in the first place. They would actually rejoice if we all dropped dead. But we are still divided in spite of this common thread that binds us.
There is the biggest thing of all that we share, one issue that we share with the rest of humanity: The need for a Savior. A number of convicted felons are not religious but a number of other felons are. Religious or not, the Bible tells us that mankind is fallen, a race tarnished by sin and guilty in the sight of God:
Romans 3:9, 23: What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,…
For those of you who are not familiar with Christianity, our holy book, the Bible, informs us that the ancestors of the whole human race, Adam and Eve, disobeyed God in the garden of Eden. This brought a curse on all of us. God has always required the shedding of blood to atone for sin (Leviticus 17:11; Hebrews 9:22). God ordained animal sacrifices early on, and these pointed the way to the ultimate atonement for all our sins: His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, born of a virgin to die for our sins and rise from the dead, fully God and fully man, the only One whose atonement He will accept. The system of animal sacrifices is obsolete. Whether one is a Jew or a non-Jew (Gentile), the only thing God will accept for the salvation of our souls is our acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
John 1:1, 14: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
Acts 4:12: “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Romans 10:8-17: But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you, will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek*, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”
How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!” But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “LORD, who has believed our report?” So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
*In this passage, “Greek” is a synonym for all non-Jews (Gentiles).
Whether you hear the Word of God through a Christian friend or loved one, a Christian out witnessing somewhere, or in a church service, it does something to activate or increase your faith in the one true God, the God of the Bible. You cannot get saved all by yourself. If you are sincerely seeking the Lord, God the Father in heaven will invite you to salvation, God the Holy Spirit will show you that you are a sinner and therefore in need of salvation, and God the Son—Jesus Christ—will be there awaiting your decision. If you genuinely want to be saved, He will save you from your sins and declare you righteous before God (John 6:37, 44, 16:8-11; Romans 4:3-8, 8:29-34).
What is the Answer?
There are potentially many other things various convicted felons could have in common: Birthplace, interests, town or city of residence, taste in foods, and so on. However, what has been covered here is, in a nutshell, the basics that most or all of us have in common despite our differences and divisions. The answer to these problems is not simple. Each one of us is unique. We have our own issues, emotional baggage, et cetera. One step towards uniting is making the decision to unite. We must put our differences aside as much as possible and realize we face many common hurdles in our quest to reintegrate into society and be successful in life.
The most important need of all, however, is the need for salvation, the biggest common thread between us. Those of us who are already saved should point the lost to Jesus, and that includes those among us felons who are lost. We who are Christians and convicted felons should stand together on the core doctrines of our faith even if we disagree on other doctrinal points. Any solution to this division among us and opposition to us is going to take time to work out. Not everyone is going to get on board, and not all convicted felons are going to do the right thing. As many of us who are willing, though, should make the effort, however long it takes and however challenging it is. Change for the better will not happen if we don’t try, and it certainly won’t happen if those around us do not see positive changes in our lives and the putting aside of our differences for a common cause. Let’s unite in the common threads between us and effect positive change for convicted felons, not only for us who are already out of prison but also for those who will be getting out in the future.
REFERENCES
[1] Google: “Search Labs | AI Overview: For All Criminal Offenders, What Are the Most Common Negative Factors in Their Backgrounds?” Retrieved 04/20/2026.
[2] Google: “Search Labs | AI Overview: For Sex Offenders, What Are the Most Common Negative Factors in Their Backgrounds?” Retrieved 04/20/2026.
