[9] Carol Vance, a former Harris County district attorney and the chairperson of the Texas Board of Criminal Justice, asked state officials to implement the first Christian faith-based prison program at Jester II.

[3] The InnerChange Freedom Initiative (IFI) program,[10] which was operated by Prison Fellowship Ministries and was founded by Charles Colson,[3] first came to Jester II in April 1997.

[3] By 2010, due to the expansion of Greater Houston, housing developments have appeared within a close proximity to the prison grounds.

[13] Jesse Hyde of the Dallas Observer said that Vance "looks like any other minimum-security prison in Texas—a cluster of brick buildings, a fence topped with razor wire, a group of inmates loitering in the yard."

However the interior is decorated differently than in other prisons; for instance the walls have murals depicting events in Christianity, including the Crucifixion of Jesus and an apocalyptic vision from the Book of Revelation.

[10] As of 2010 the eligible groups of inmates allowed to participate are those expected to be released in the Greater Houston and the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex areas, and the program has space for 300 men.

"[18] Jesse Hyde of the Dallas Observer said "Visitors have remarked that the Vance Unit feels more like a Bible college than a prison."

Hyde added "it is not uncommon to see men of various races, marked with tattoos of rival prison gangs, circled together to pray.

Some TDCJ prisoners believed that a person who declined the opportunity to volunteer for the InnerChange Freedom Initiative program would be denied parole.

The program tells prisoners that homosexuality, masturbation, and premarital sexual intercourse are sins that will draw people back into criminal behavior.