Three years after Mennonite Church USA delegates passed a study resolution, “For Justice in the U.S. Criminal Legal System,” I am disappointed that the Resolutions Committee declined our proposal to amend the resolution at this year’s convention. Our request for revisions, submitted by Grace Mennonite Church, Pandora, Ohio, did not change the existing language addressing systemic harms to those accused, convicted and incarcerated and their families, and we did not change the language about dismantling racism and ending the death penalty. The two additions in our proposal bring a realistic balance to the resolution. First, the need to include the safety, healing, justice and restitution needs of the other half of the participants in crimes: the victims. Jesus answered in Luke 10’s Good Samaritan story that our neighbor is the crime victim, ending by saying, “Go and do likewise.” Second, the current justice resolution ignores the millions of Christians, including thousands of Anabaptists, who have dedicated careers to bring salt and light to both victims and offenders individually and systemically as professionals and volunteers. People of faith, integrity and vision continue to make a difference through the justice system, nonprofit organizations, churches and restorative justice programs. We hope a revised justice resolution will represent and inform MC USA congregations by adding these two missing pieces.

David L. Voth, Bluffton, Ohio