A long-term study conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics found that the average five-year recidivism rate of 404,638 prisoners released in 2005 was 76.6 percent among thirty states Americans (Matthew, Alexia, & Howard, 2014, p. In other words, most released prisoners did not escape the cycle of recidivism and after some time were sent back to prison. This indicates that the current American justice system, which focuses on punishment, as Benson (2003) noted, fails to rehabilitate prisoners effectively and is far from achieving the goal of reducing crime rates (p. 46). becoming a major plague on society, because it not only poses a threat to public safety, but also imposes a huge financial burden on taxpayers. According to a survey covering forty American states, a prisoner would cost taxpayers an average of $31,286 each year (Henrichson). & Delaney, 2012, p. 9). Therefore, 76% of the 404,638 five-year repeat offenders mentioned in the study conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics would cost approximately one billion dollars per year. Understanding the importance of rehabilitation, Prison Fellowship International (PFI), founded by Charles Colson in 1979, provides various Christian-based rehabilitation programs to inmates and ex-offenders in more than 125 countries around the world (“About Us,” n.d.). This paper will evaluate and advise on three solutions provided by Prison Fellowship International to rehabilitate offenders: establishing communications between offenders and victims, providing offenders with a reentry program based on biblical education, and visiting prisoners regularly. The Sycamore Tree Project provides opportunities for offenders to c...... middle of paper......, S. (2011). Experiences of shame and empathy in violent and nonviolent young offenders. Journal of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology, 22(4), 551-563. doi:10.1080/14789949.2011.602096 Pithers, W. D. (1999). Empathy: definition, valorization and relevance for the treatment of sexual abusers. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 14(3), 257-284. Proeve, M., & Howells, K. (2002). Shame and guilt in child sex offenders. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 46(6), 657-667.Roys, D.T. (1997). Empirical and theoretical considerations on empathy in sexual offenders. International Journal of Offender Therapy & Comparative Criminology, 41(1), 53.Who we are. Retrieved from https://pfi.org/who-we-are/Wilkinson, R. A., & Unwin, T. (1999). Prison visit. Retrieved from http://www.drc.ohio.gov/web/Articles/Visiting%20in%20Prison.pdf