Crossing the line: Racial healing in a family and community

from the article by Phoebe Kilby on PeaceBuilder:

When I began my quest to determine if my family had owned slaves, I initially focused on slavery alone and my family’s involvement in it. But when I discovered descendants of my family’s slaves, I quickly learned that racial wounds inflicted during the Civil Rights era were much more important to them than any scars left from slavery. They had been denied equal educational opportunities and had been terrorized for demanding change. If I were to do something to nurture healing, I would need to address these more modern wounds.

Jun 27, 2011 Region: North America and Caribbean, National Reconciliation, Country:USA

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Right and proper: Conservatives and criminal justice

from the article in The Economist:

The word commonly used to describe a politician who publicly announces he wants to send fewer criminals to prison is “loser”. But back in February there was David Williams, president of Kentucky’s Senate, speaking in favour of a bill that would do just that. The bill in question would steer non-violent offenders towards drug treatment rather than jail. It is projected to save $422m over the next decade, and will invest about half those savings in improving the state’s treatment, parole and probation programmes. 

Mr Williams, who believes Kentucky “incarcerates too many people at too great a cost,” praised the bill for recognising “the possibility for forgiveness and redemption and change in someone’s life”. It passed the Republican-controlled Senate 38-0, and on May 17th Mr Williams went on to win the Republican nomination for governor.

Jun 22, 2011 Policy, Politics, Support, Region: North America and Caribbean

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Finding forgiveness

from SBS Dateline:

Dateline has a touching story of friendship between a woman who was shot and critically injured, and the stranger who attempted to kill her.

Jackie Millar took years to recover after she was shot in the head. She remains almost blind and permanently brain damaged, unable to even remember bringing up her own sons. 

Jun 20, 2011 Story, Region: North America and Caribbean, Case:Violence, Victim, Forgiveness, Country:USA

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Restoring lives: Now that’s Justice

from Patrice Gaines' article in Yes!:

It was the summer of 2009. I was on my second day of work for the U.S. Census Bureau, knocking on doors in rural South Carolina.

My cell phone rang. It was my supervisor.

“Patrice, headquarters called me and told me to send you home immediately and to take back all government property,” she said. “I don’t know why.”

Jun 15, 2011 Offender, Reentry, Practice, Indigenous, Region: North America and Caribbean, Country:USA

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Judge Irene Sullivan on learning a lesson in restorative justice from teenagers

from her entry on Juvenile Justice Information Exchange:

In mid-May I traveled from my home in Florida to Evanston Township High School, just north of Chicago, to meet with students, school social workers and law enforcement officials. My intention was to talk to them about my nine years of service as a juvenile judge and the stories of the kids in court I wrote about in my book, Raised by the Courts: One Judge’s Insight into Juvenile Justice.

Boy, was I in for a surprise!

Instead of talking I was listening. Instead of teaching I was learning. Instead of being the center of attention, I was one person in a circle of 12. Instead of sharing my experiences with others, I listened while others shared some very personal and painful experiences with me. Instead of talking about guilt or innocence, crime and punishment, I found myself focused on the word “harm:” identifying the harm, acknowledging the harm and repairing the harm.

Jun 08, 2011 School, Practice, Region: North America and Caribbean, Policy, Teacher, Country:USA

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