coming up, lucky severson looks at the ethics of private for profit companies that oversee probation. and kim lawton on the continuing legacy of the chabad lubavitch rebbe menachem mendel schneerson 20 years after his death. plus comfort dogs to soothe the pain of people who are hurting. >> dogs are part of god's creation. >> major funding for religion and ethics news weekly is provided by the lillie endowment, a private family foundation dedicated to founders' interest in religion,

community development and education. additional funding also provided by mutual of america. designing customized individual and group retirement products. that's why we're your retirement company. >> welcome. i'm hari sreenivasan sitting in for bob abernethy. as the u.s. and international groups increased humanitarian aid to iraq, u.n. officials raised grave concerns that crimes against humanity were being committed by isis. this week the u.n.'s human rights chief accused isis of ethnic and religious cleansing citing brutal attacks against christians and yazidis. younan said the actions of isis were "pure and simple religious cleansing and attempted

genocide." memorial services were for journalist james foley killed by isis militants last week. a prayer service was held in his memory at marquette university, his alma mater. foley was a devout catholic. religious leaders from across the nation were among those attending this week's funeral services for michael brown, the unarmed african-american teenager shot by a police officer in ferguson, missouri. several faith groups have been gathering signatures for petitions advocating full accountability in the brown case and systemic changes to police procedures nationwide. clergy have also been urging more training in nonviolence for those who want to protest. growing alarm this week about the spread of ebola in west africa. the world health organization said the number of infected people could reach 20,000. more than 1,500 have died from the outbreak so far. many of the cases are in

liberia, and faith based relief officials there say that ebola has induced a citywide panic in monrovia, the nation's capital, where medical facilities and staff are in short supply. a former vatican ambassador to the dominican republic is facing possible extradition by several countries after being accused of sex crimes against several children. jozef wesolowski was defrocked by a vatican court for sexually abusing young boys while in the dominican republic. he's yet to be charged, however. this week the vatican said that he's lost his diplomatic immunity status and could be extradited. wesolowski has appealed his defrocking. in many jurisdictions in the u.s., courts appoint private for profit probation companies to collect fines and oversee the

conduct of individuals accused of violations. but sometimes people with relatively small fines end up with fees and interest charges that balloon to amounts they cannot afford. and as lucky severson reports, this can lead to months or even years in jail. >> after his brother died, clifford hayes was homeless so he went to the sheriff's office for permission to stay at the salvation army shelter for one night. >> i didn't know they had a warrant for my arrest. i went to get shelter clearance and they locked me up. >> the warrant was for a speeding ticket he received several years earlier. a private probation company appointed by the court said the fine had not been paid. hayes says the fine plus the company's fees had ballooned to a couple thousand dollars, money he didn't have. have you been in any other trouble beside the speeding ticket? >> no, sir. >> that's it? >> that's it. >> i was shocked that he was

jailed and would have stayed in jail for a year or two on these charges. >> jack lock is a self-proclaimed conservative republican attorney in augusta, georgia, who is representing several probationers free of charge. he is outraged because he says a 1983 supreme court case ruled people on probation cannot be jailed because they can't afford to pay a fine. carol isaacs is with a quaker organization. >> they couldn't pay a $200 fine or ticket. they are put on probation. they have to pay chris on what they own and they have to pay that company for the bristol of being supervised by them. it's like a payday loan. they pay ten times over and these are people that are poor to begin with. >> chris albin-lackey is with human rights watch. he authored an extensive report called "profiting from probation." >> the issue is that the courts are hiring these people not

really to act as probation officers but to act as debt collectors. the fact that they are called proposation officee ati probation officers is not in keeping with people's basic rights. >> these are my bills that i have to pay now. these are brand new bills. hospital bills. medical bills. >> clifford hayes has lupus, a disease that's taken three members of his family. he receives a monthly supplemental security income check, ssi, for $720. his rent is $400. medication costs at least $70 a month. he's worried that he'll be jailed again for the speeding ticket if jack long is not there to protect him. >> if they violate the rules, they need to be punished. the punishment needs to have some evidence that it's based on a fine it had to be based on the person's ability to pay.

if they don't have the ability to pay, they can pick up trash on the street or have community service. >> jack long says his probation case was with a for profit company called sentinel offenders services, but there are other private probation companies out there. >> i have learned it's a lore not widespread than i ever thought. >> we requested an interview with the richmond county sheriff here in augusta but he had comment. in previous public statements, sentinel officials said their supervision helps offenders meet the terms of their probation. sentinel also offers english as second language classes and guidance counseling. tom barrett has no gripe with sentinel and was under their supervision for longer than he cares to remember. >> they were professional. i didn't have a problem.

they were doing their job. >> thomas barrett is an individual that had a college education. he was a pharmacist by training. he was in the army. life was going on with him and unfortunately he had an alcohol problem. >> and i was real depressed. i said, you know, i want a beer. i walked by this convenience store and i walked in there. >> barrett was arrested for shoplifting a $2 can of beer. >> he was incarcerated and the judge told him he would have to go on electronic monitoring if he wanted to be released from jail. >> electronic monitoring cost $12 a day and he would have to install land line in his phone all requiring money he didn't have. >> basically they said i was going to be locked up until i could make all these arrangements. i'm thinking if i'm locked up it's more difficult to make these arrangements and i have no money. >> a friend convinced a judge to allow him out of jail long

enough to make enough money to stay out of jail. >> my only income was food stamps and selling plasma so i was falling behind. the probation officer said when you get up to about $500 behind, you get locked up again. so i got locked up $500 behind and i got locked up again. >> all together he was locked up three times. >> i know that jailing cost $50 a day and he was probably in jail for at least 60 days or 70 days so probably over $3,500. >> the cost for his jailing was passed onto the taxpayers. >> a lot of courts don't have funds to pay for their own operations. a lot of courts are under tremendous pressure from local public officials to noting a burden on the taxpayer to generate revenue instead of cost revenue. >> local courts are sending to private for profit companies to

save money. more than 5 million americans are on probation. >> aren't they saving the taxpayers money? >> i have seen no evidence of that thus far. >> it's estimated that private probation companies in georgia alone collect fees of over $40 million annually. >> i'm surprised it's that low. i think it's higher that that. >> higher than 40 million? >> you can't know because they're not required to disclose everything they collect. >> a lot of companies provide quarterly bonuses to their employees based on how much money they take in. i think that's a perfect example of how these probation officers who work for these private companies are often being explicitly pushed in the direction not of being probation officers in the traditional sense of the world but being effective at squeezing money out of the people who come into their offices. >> they have an incentive to

basically keep people on probation as long as possible, to sell as many services as they can. >> caroline isaacs says faith groups involved in cars ration for profit issues are now taking a closer look at for profit probation. >> even beyond the basic ethical c conu con conundrum of incarceration for profit, there are other fundamental faith principles. redemption and forgiveness really are falling by the wayside when we profitize these functions. >> the judicial branch of government does not need to be involved in helping a company make a profit. >> among the cases before the court are clifford hayes and tom barrett who have quit drinking

for over six months. >> i'm ashamed of what i did. i made a mistake, but i need to move on. >> tom barrett says he forgives the people who have given him such a hard time but cannot forgive the system. for religion and ethics news weekly, i'm lucky severson in augusta, georgia. no other news, thousands of american muslims are making preparations for their upcoming pilgrimage to mecca or hajj which falls this year on the first week of october. 25 u.s. muslim groups sent a letter to secretary of state john kerry asking for protection during their journey to mecca. last year shiite muslims from detroit said they were attacked and threatened with death by a group of sunni muslims during the hajj but received little help from either saudi or u.s. authorities. the state department said they take all threats against u.s. citizens seriously and urged

pilgrims to register their whereabouts with the state department. there were jewish celebrations in mumbai, india, this week. nariman house reopened nearly six years after it was attacked by pakistani gunmen. six people were killed. leaders said the reopened center will be a beacon of light and hope that evil will not prevail. the chabad lubavitch movement is the best known of several ultra-orthodox hasidic groups that began in the 18th century. 20 years after his death, schneerson has a profound influence as kim lawton reports. in queens, new york,

thousands of members of the chabad lubavitch movement have come to the grave site of their spiritual leader. they pray and leave notes which are usually torn up after they're offered. schneerson died in 1994 and two decades later, his followers still want to be near him. >> there's a feeling the rebbe had a close connection with god so people beseech him to intervene on their behalf and when they go to his grave site, they feel more connected at that holy place. >> rabbi joseph telushkin is the author of a new biography of schneerson. in the 20 years since schneerson's death, the movement has tripled in size. he's called the most influential

rabbi in modern history. >> there is no other comparable figure in modern times who had such a reach. >> schneerson was the seventh rebbe of the movement which began in the 18th century. he was born in ukraine and came to the u.s. in 1941. he settled with other lubavitchers in brooklyn. schneerson's personal charisma attracted men as did his teachings. >> he took the concept and explained it to questions that are bothering people today. >> rabbi berel bell first encountered schneerson as a student at yale university when he read something the had written. >> i was astounded in terms of the scholarship and relevance and importance to living your daily life. i couldn't believe it. i asked the people that i was with, it was a bush of yeshiva

students, i said something like this comes out every week it seems like somebody is magnum opus. >> his goal was to ignite the soul of every jew. the rebbe inaugurated the first attempt in all of jewish history to reach every jewish community and every jew in the world. >> schneerson instructed his emissaries to bring judaism to every community no matter how remote. today there are more than 4,000 couples running centers in 49 states in some 80 countries. >> the rebbe understood that any one law, any one ritual, any one ethical act, could be that step that could bring someone on a path back to judaism. and by the way, he thought though that the step had value even if the person didn't take it further. >> today lubavitchers continue carrying out schneerson's marching orders aided greatly by

modern technology. >> when you look online for jewish institutions, chabad is probably the first thing you find. >> david denemark says he faced anti-semitism in berlin. he grew up in a secular environment but decided he wanted to reconnect with his jewish roots. in a facebook search, he found out about this chabad jewish fellowship summer program in the catskills. >> we pray not to close your eyes and pray by heart but to look at the letters. >> at gender separated camp, students get six weeks of intensive training in sacred text and teachings and men learn how to pray. >> they make you proud to be a jew and not to be ashamed. don't be scared. don't be afraid. >> women also study texts and pray. and they learn practical skills such as how to make challah.

>> very often they are going to other countries and exploring other religions and haven't given themselves an opportunity to discover or explore their own religion. >> she came to the program in 2011 and is now a counselor because she says it transformed her spiritual life. >> i didn't have much of a jewish education at all. when i came here, i learned a lot of new things and i was amazed. i knew that this was the truth. i knew this was the way i wanted to follow. >> the program began 30 years ago with schneerson's blessing and its leaders believe they are still carrying out his vision. >> other hasidic masters said all you have to do is teach torah. rebbe said you have a talent in art. you have a talent in music. you have a talent in medicine. i want you to get the foundations but then go back to

that profession because everything leads to god. >> this is what he loved. jews from all over having an opportunity to come and experience in an open environment and in a nonjudgmental environment learning at their own pace. >> the program director says schneerson was a vibrant presence in his family's life. as a child he attended the meetings. >> people thought it was just charisma or just a lot of fluff and singing and dancing. when the rebbe would no longer be there, it would dissipate. how is it all going on 20 years later? it was substance. he was teaching. he was a communicating. he was a master teacher. >> many of schneerson's teachings have universal appeal. >> one was approaching people with nonjudgmental love and not just having a love of people but always remained focus on the individual. anything worth doing is worth doing now.

the rebbe would not delay things. the rebbe also had the capacity to disagree without being disagreeable and what was the secret of that? he focused on what he held in common with other people. that's exactly what most human beings don't do. >> for jews he stressed doing good deeds and fulfilling commandments. the movement still believes that. >> is it part of my world? absolutely. i believe that any one single deed any person does could be the deed that brings moshiach. >> because of his spirituality and popularity, some saw schneerson himself as a possible messiah. >> to be truthful, there are some people within his movement who believe that he will return from the dead. they're hoping when the dead are revived, he'll be one of them and he'll be revealed as the messiah. i don't see that affecting any

people's behavior on a day-to-day basis when the day will come that the messiah comes we'll find out. >> although several of schneerson's associates provided leadership services, no new rebbe was named after his death. >> what's also significant is the movement has undergone its greatest growth without a movement. maybe a time will come when the movement will find a figure that has that unifying charisma that the rebbe had. in the meantime, it's working. >> many lubavitchers say schneerson continues to lead them through his teachings. they believe that the essence of a rebbe doesn't end with death. >> the influence is even stronger, is even stronger after the physical presence is not visible than before because during the physical lifetime, the soul was limited to a body.

afterwards, the sole is free to affect things without the constraints of a body. >> lubavitchers are ignited by knowledge they haven't achieved the mandate schneerson gave them to reach every jew. >> one jew lost is one jew too many. we have to reach out. wherever jews are at whatever stage and country, we have to reach out and bring them onboard. >> it's not an easy task. growing numbers of u.s. jews describe themselves as religious unaffiliated. >> how can you find what judaism can offer people to give meaning to their lives and the final analysis, that's what human beings are looking for. they want to feel they are part of something more important than just themselves. how do you do that and that's what the challenge will be. >> chabad members believe that challenge is why schneerson's

legacy is more important than ever. i'm kim lawton in new york. finally, as the community in ferguson, missouri, continues to reel from the events surrounding the death of michael brown, special visitors this week tried to bring some solis. lutheran church charities, lcc, brought in its canine comfort dog ministry. the group's mission is to provide comfort and compassion to hurting people. the specially trained dogs often visit hospitals and nursing homes but they are also brought to sites where tragedies have occurred. lcc president tim hetzner explains their ministry. >> people many times all ages will talk to a dog before they will talk to a person. after a couple seconds of petting the dog, people start sharing. why they're there. what they're thinking. some of their fears. but you know, through all of

that, it brings a smile to their face. some hope into their day. and if they want, we will pray with them. if they would like that. dogs are part of god's creation. a very gifted part of his creation with their sixth sense of empathy, to sense someone who is hurting. i can't tell you how many times our dogs -- they are trained not be a aggressive with people but will nudge the handler to go see someone and invite them over and it's something that is struggling. dogs sense that in people. all of our dogs have a business card and on their business card is a picture of the dog and it has a bible verse. here's ruthie's. they all have facebook pages. twitter accounts and e-mail. which isn't just being cute. it's a way to continue to minister to and to connect with

people and many times people will share things that they're going through or ask for prayers through the facebook page. you know, i have not found in the gospels yet where jesus ever invited someone to synagogue or temple. but i do see all over the place where jesus calls us to go out. it's not just go out. he always says where to start. you start with the lowliest. and those that are hurting and those that are in the lowly places and those that are suffering and that's what we do as hands and feet of christ. >> that's our program for now. i'm hari sreenivasan. you can follow religion and ethics news weekly on twitter and facebook and watch on pbs app for iphones and ipads and visit the website where there's always much more and where you can also listen to or watch each program. join us at pbs.org. as we leave you, more from the

chabad lubavitch. ♪ >> major funding for religion and ethics news weekly is provided by the lillie endowment a private family foundation dedicated to founders interest in religion, community development and education. additional funding also provided by mutual of america designing customized, individual and group retirement products. that's why we're your retirement

>> rose: i'm charlie rose. the program is "charlie rose the week." just ahead a conversation with sting and then a selection of songs from his new broadway show. >> momentum is important to me. and i'm still on that journey. i'm still trying to finish this journey but it's very, very exciting, very absorbing and probably the most difficult thing i've ever tackled. >> rose: because? >> there are so many moving parts. it's very collaborative, the musical theater. there are bleached corpses on either side of of you, you know. it's a very dangerous place to be. every song fight for its life on a daily base. every character fight for his or her life. every line in every song, every verse. there is no fact. there is no time to waste. you have to tell a story in a very concise, very