Putting a face to a crime

by Lisa Rea. This entry first appeared on Change.org

I recently wrote on graffiti vandalism in Los Angeles and how restorative justice could be applied to this problem. What I didn't know at the time was that Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill here in California related to this problem in 2008. That bill, authored by Assemblyman Mike Davis (D-Los Angeles), required that convicted graffiti offenders clean up the mess they created and for one year keep it clean. This reflects restorative justice in that the punishment fits the crime. The governor was right.

Sep 25, 2009 Case:Livability Crimes, Correspondent:Lisa Rea

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Tagging and restorative justice

from Lisa Rea's entry at Change.org:

A recent story caught my eye. According to the Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles tagger Cyrus Yazdani, who goes by Buket, has been sentenced to 3 years and 8 months for his tagging efforts.

This is not the first time this notorious tagger has been caught and fined. Yazdani, a 26-year old college graduate from San Jose State, is a prolific tagger who does his tagging in broad daylight. The amount of damage caused by Yazdani's graffiti is in the range of $150,000. And that's got to be on the low side. Most of the damage has been done in Los Angeles; authorities say he's tagged hundreds of freeway overpasses. Is this a fair and just sentence? What do you do with a serial tagger? How would a justice system based on the principles of restorative justice see this case?

Sep 21, 2009 Policy, Politics, Correspondent:Lisa Rea

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Life sentence in fatal impaired accident 'small victory' for Quebec family

by Lisa Rea

Canadian Roger Walsh was convicted and given a life sentence for the killing of Anee Khudaverian while driving drunk in October 2008 in Quebec. Walsh's sentence is noteworthy since this is the stiffest sentence ever handed down by the Crown in the case of a drunk driving death. Walsh had 18 additional convictions on his record for "impaired driving" before the death of this victim. In this news story, along with a television news clip interviewing the victim's mother and sister, we learn that Ms. Khudaverian was wheelchair bound and walking her down on a rural road when she was killed by Walsh.

Sep 11, 2009 Case:DWI, Correspondent:Lisa Rea

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Ex-Vietnam lieutenant apologizes for My Lai massacre: opening doors for restorative justice?

by Lisa Rea

I was on holiday recently but when I returned I saw a very small story in my daily newspaper on Lt. William Calley and his public apology for the My Lai massacre of March 1968. I was quite young in 1968 but not too young not to recall the massacre that left 500 men, women and children dead in Vietnam. Lt. Calley's name became synonymous with the My Lai massacre here in the U.S.  In 1971, Lt. Calley was convicted of killing 22 civilians during the massacre. He was sentenced to life in prison. President Richard Nixon reduced his sentence to serving three years under house arrest. 

Sep 04, 2009 Offender, Correspondent:Lisa Rea, Apology, Community Service

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California officials fear Jaycee Lee Dugard case may hurt efforts on parole

By Lisa Rea

Horrific as the case of the abduction of 11-year-old Jaycee Lee Dugard is it does not warrant the California Legislature giving up its responsibility to take up serious reforms of the prison system in the state.

This case which shocked the nation last week as it detailed Dugard's kidnapping in 1991 and her 18 years of captivity in the backyard of convicted sex offender Phillip Garrido in northern California should tell us a number of things. One, we can be grateful that Jaycee Dugard was found. So many of the crime victims I have worked with in the U.S. have not had that same joyful conclusion to their tragic life story. Thank God Jaycee was found.

Sep 02, 2009 Reentry, Offender, Practice, Correspondent:Lisa Rea

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