Prison Life and the Aftermath of Thug Living: Chaplain Training Approaches to Pastoral Care for the Long-Term Incarcerated

by Sharon Ellis Davis; Damien W. D. Davis

Publisher:

Wipf and Stock

, 2024

While COVID-19 affected the world, the prison population was equally impacted. Three thousand incarcerated men at the beginning of the pandemic were exposed to the virus. With an increasing number of individuals in custody hospitalized and others placed in quarantine, individuals in custody felt little attention was given to their survival and spiritual care during incarceration. Therefore, this study highlights what pastoral care should resemble for chaplains working in prison through the critical lens and assessment of formally incarcerated citizens. Furthermore, this work reflects on their experiences with chaplains and reconstructs how chaplaincy provides care. Damien Davis utilizes qualitative data, interviews/questions, observations, and storytelling to measure his results. This thesis ministry project offered a trauma-informed pastoral care model through a framework known as the 3 Cs for chaplains, who, in the end, became more educated, informed, and equipped to meet the needs of the incarcerated.

Praise for Prison Life and the Aftermath of Thug Living

“Damien Davis invites readers into an important conversation about people in American prisons. By developing a program of care centered in the stories and needs of these people, Davis de-centers older models and re-centers the work by using surveys to ask (and more importantly, to listen) to imprisoned persons themselves. Damien’s method invites us to consider three deceptively simple words: caution, care, and collaboration—each word a world to itself, brought together in a generative method of engagement, agency, and advocacy.”

—Ken Sawyer, professor of church history, McCormick Theological Seminary



“In this book, Damien Davis takes readers on a journey to search the deep matters of the heart. It is a key resource for those who work in criminal justice and need resources for their own wellness as they face the pain and suffering of those who are locked behind bars. Davis has contributed a heart-filled and necessary guide to chaplaincy and anyone else who takes the work of restoration seriously.”

—Stephanie Crumpton, associate professor of practical theology, McCormick Theological Seminary

Product Details

• Title: Prison Life and the Aftermath of Thug Living: Chaplain Training Approaches to Pastoral Care for the Long-Term Incarcerated
• Authors: Sharon Ellis Davis, Damien W. D. Davis
• Publisher: Wipf and Stock
• Print Publication Date: 2024
• Logos Release Date: 2024
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Ebook
• ISBNs: 9798385221837, 9798385221820, 9798385221813
• Resource ID: LLS:9798385221837
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2024-07-11T20:47:27Z

About the Authors

Damien W. D. Davis is an alumnus of Wilberforce University. He has an earned an MDiv and DMin from McCormick Theological Seminary and was awarded the John Randall Hunt Prize for Outstanding Doctor of Ministry Thesis. He serves as associate pastor of New Tiberia Baptist Church and as a hospice chaplain for Harmony Cares. He was the former senior chaplain at the maximum-security prison Stateville Correctional Center for Illinois Corrections.