Chuck Colson Biography

 

Some 30 years ago, Charles W. Colson was not thinking about reaching out to prison inmates or reforming the U.S. penal system. In fact, this aide to President Richard Nixon was "incapable of humanitarian thought," according to the media of the mid-1970s. Colson was known as the White House "hatchet man," a man feared by even the most powerful politicos during his four years of service to President Nixon.

When news of Colson's conversion to Christianity leaked to the press in 1973, the Boston Globe reported, "If Mr. Colson can repent of his sins, there just has to be hope for everybody." Colson would agree.

In 1974 Colson entered a plea of guilty to Watergate-related charges; although not implicated in the Watergate burglary, he voluntarily pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in the Daniel Ellsberg Case. He entered Alabama's Maxwell Prison in 1974 as a new Christian and as the first member of the Nixon administration to be incarcerated for Watergate-related charges. He served seven months of a one- to three-year sentence.

After leaving prison, Colson founded Prison Fellowship in 1976, a Christian, non-profit organization that has become the world's largest outreach to prisoners, ex-prisoners and their families. Colson's personal prison experience and his visits to more than 800 prisons throughout the world prompted concerns about the efficacy of the American criminal justice system and made him one of the nation's most influential voices for criminal justice reform. Colson's recommendations have brought together legislators from both political parties and divergent philosophical viewpoints.

Colson is a popular speaker and author and is considered one of the great evangelical minds of our day. He has written 25 books, which collectively have sold more than 5 million copies. His autobiographical book, Born Again, was a New York Times best-seller in 1976 and was made into a feature-length film.

In 1991 Colson launched a daily radio feature called BreakPoint, a unique and well-received attempt to provide a distinctly Christian worldview on current issues. Today this worldview ministry has expanded to equip Christians to live out their faith in the culture via radio, interactive media and print, with the syndicated radio program aired daily on some 1,000 outlets nationwide.

In recognition of his work, in 2008 Colson received the second highest U.S. civilian honor, the Presidential Citizens Medal, second only to the Presidential Medal of Freedom.  Colson's other awards have included the prestigious Templeton Prize for progress in religion, donating the $1 million prize to Prison Fellowship (1993); the Humanitarian Award from Dominos Pizza Corporation (1991); The Others Award from The Salvation Army (1990); the Outstanding Young Man of Boston from the Boston Chamber of Commerce (1960) and several honorary doctorates from various colleges and universities (1982-2000).

Despite his far-reaching work, activities, and expertise, Colson's heart is always with the prisoner. He has clearly remembered the promise he made to his fellow inmates during his brief stay in prison that he would "never forget those behind bars."

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