Book Description
On November 13, 1947, in Uniontown, PA, twenty-year-old Jim Townsend shot and killed his pregnant wife--a horrible crime that dominated front-page articles in the region. He was promptly convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. In THE PRISONER, Paul Everett explores the first two decades of Jim's life, which comprise a sadly familiar saga of abuse and brutality stemming from his dysfunctional family and the harsh juvenile correctional institutions in which he was incarcerated. Everett shows why, when confronted with a devastating problem in his marriage, Jim's temperament could only deal with the situation violently. However, while in prison, Jim experienced an extraordinary transformation due to God's love and forgiveness. Jim's step-by-step process of healing and redemption led to an astounding change and transformation and resulted both in his release from prison and in a new life as a Capuchin Brother. In this new existence Jim chose to head back into prisons--this time to provide a ministry of healing and hope that has profoundly influenced the lives of thousands. In THE PRISONER, Paul Everett has provided an invitation to hopefulness for all who live in despair; whose lives and circumstances have brought them to the desperation of not knowing where to turn. It tells them that there is a living God who can heal, guide, transform and empower them, regardless of who they are, what they've done.

About the Author
Paul Everett, a Presbyterian clergyman, is a minister to the business community, retreat leader, spiritual director, writer of articles for religious journals and newspapers as well as a clergyman at large for the Peale Center. He resides in Sherman, CT.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

The first twenty years of Jim Townsend's life was a saga of abuse and violence stemming from an extremely dysfunctional family and the juvenile correctional institutions into which he had been placed. The pain and brokenness he experienced were never dealt with, and thus, when confronted with a devastating problem in his marriage, his violent and unhealed nature could only deal with the situation violently. On January 31, 1948, he was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. He was twenty years old.