Breaking the Cycle of Hurting

"Hurt people hurt other people."

Maybe you've heard this saying before. You have probably heard the stories of abused children growing up to be abusers, or of bullied children growing up to be serial killers. Of course, these stories do not mean that all abused children grow up to abuse others, or that all bullied children grow up to be serial killers. But these stories do reinforce the truth that hurt people hurt other people. And prison is full of hurting people.

A person's pain does not excuse his choice to hurt other people. When a person hurts another he must be held accountable for his behavior. But how should society ensure accountability while still addressing the hurt underlying an offender's behaviors?

Our current system does little, if anything, to address these hurts. Some attempts are made to address from a group perspective the psychological issues and mental processes an offender deals with, but do these attempts heal the individual hurts?
If hurt people hurt other people then to truly affect a change in an offender we must address this underlying pain. 

Many prisoners do not recognize the connection between their own hurts and their choice to hurt others. This requires a deep honesty and personal reflection that may uncover hidden pain that has remained long buried.

This process at its root a spiritual process that involves forgiveness and repentance, and one that uncovers and heals the shame identity of the hurt offender. In reality, we can not expect the prison system to provide the answers to these problems. It is the responsibility of spiritual people and those who have healed from their own hurts to help offenders heal. Only healing can break the cycle of hurting.