. 306 pages. When Charles Colson was released from prison early in 1975, he simply wanted to rejoin his family and build a new life. Instead, he found himself pioneering a highly original ministry to prison inmates and campaigning for penal reform. "Life Sentence" is a narrative of danger, conflict and hard choices. Colson's motives were queried and his faith scorned. Against official suspicion and the hositility of some inmates he developed a controversial prison outreach on both sides of the Atlantic.