Sawyer family moves forward after devastating loss
from wsbt.com (tip of the hat to Vancouver Association for Restorative Justice):
When he left home the morning of July 16, 2008, Patrick was just weeks away from completing his degree. It was early, before sunrise, and he was riding his bicycle west on Cleveland Road, headed to the YMCA to swim laps before class at Indiana University South Bend. He was wearing a helmet and reflective vest and riding with traffic, and he had lights on the front and back of his bicycle.
Sep 11, 2009 Media, Story, Country:USA, Case:DWI
Three justice orientations (or two?)
by Dan Van Ness
Howard Zehr, recently wrote in his Restorative Justice Blog:
Stanford Law Professor Herbert Packer has argued that two opposing justice orientations dominate U.S. policy debates: crime control vs. due process. Could a restorative justice orientation provide a “third way?” that transcends these poles? The following identifies some assumptions of each.
Crime control orientation: emphasis on order and security....
Due process orientation: emphasis on preventing misuse of the punishment system....
Restorative justice orientation - emphasis on repair and responsibility....
Sep 10, 2009 Correspondent:Dan Van Ness, Distinguishing, Theory, Definition
A justice that reconciles -- new study guide from Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand
from the Caritas website:
Social Justice Week in 2009 (13-19 September) calls for a new attitude to crime and punishment. Caritas has produced resources to help Catholic parishes, schools and youth groups – as well as the wider community – reflect on issues to do with criminal justice and reconciliation in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Sep 09, 2009 Region: Pacific, Biblical, Bible Study, Community, Religion, Country:New Zealand
A “proactive” restorative conference
from Matthew Kuehlhorm's blog Life Skoolz:
As the meeting progressed, tempers cooled and people began to listen. Ultimately, the kids agreed to the boundaries set by security and the college administrators. Campus security also had a chance to meet the kids and now knows who they are when they do come onto campus. Campus is open to them after all.
Helping moms 'take control of their lives' Just-Us Girls program aims to mentor troubled young mothers struggling in the justice system
from Karen Kleiss' article in Edmonton Journal:
The program will divert young women out of the system for a two-hour "sharing circle" during which three female volunteers from the community will listen to her side of the story and discuss what she would like to see happen in the future.
The volunteers will encourage healthy communication with caseworkers and provide information and options to support the young mother. When the circle is over, the chairwoman will write a report for the judge.
The sex offender as scapegoat: vigilante violence and a faith community response
by Hugh Kierkegaard and Wayne Northey:
In May of 1996, an offender was released from prison to a halfway house
in Toronto. The response of the community to his presence in their midst
was anger and hostility, and the insistence that corrections officials
remove him. This situation, while not unique in the North American context,
was particularly noteworthy as it became the subject of a documentary film
which chronicled the actual events that took place.
The film, Hunting Bobby Oatway, focussed on the controversy around
the release of a convicted pedophile and incest perpetrator after serving
ten years in prison. The story of his victims and the harm that was done
to them and his own story of an abusive childhood are mingled with the
hostility of the community and fellow offenders in the halfway house toward
him. The calls of local community activists and politicians to move him
out of their community are particularly pointed. "Bobby Oatway, you are
not wanted here, you are not wanted anywhere", shouted a local politician,
through a bullhorn, to cheering protestors gathered on the street and the
frightened offender hiding inside the halfway house. In an ironic twist,
the perpetrator had become the victim.
Sep 08, 2009 Case:Sexual
Problems with legal aid
from Chris LaHatte's blog Legal Rambling:
What is the answer?
Encourage more appropriate charges instead of over prosecution-always a problem. Then, if the appropriate charges are laid, encourage more guilty pleas by use of greater allowances for preparation for sentencing, more use of restorative justice and more resources for expert reports such as drug and alcohol abuse, psychologists, and better probation reports.
Sep 07, 2009 Human Rights, Country:New Zealand, Court, Lawyer
Criminal justice organisations want new Titan prisons abandoned.
from Percy Weller's blog:
Can you believe this, at a time when you can’t open a newspaper without reading about someone being murdered, when carrying of guns is commonplace, 1,000’s of criminals are getting away without prison sentences and some of our prisons only hold foreigners thirty-five leading criminal justice organisations have today written to Justice Secretary Jack Straw calling for the Government’s plans for three Titan prisons to be abandoned.
Sep 07, 2009 Retribution, Theory
Christian colleges/universities in US with peace studies programs
Posted by Michael Westmoreland-White in his blog Levellers:
As a service, I thought I would list all the U.S. colleges and universities that have programs with names like “peace studies,” “peace and global studies,” “peacebuilding and conflict resolution studies,” etc.
I found there were enough that I decided just to list the church-related ones and do the others in a separate post. Typically, such programs are multi-disciplinary involving faculty from several departments including international studies, history, philosophy, religious studies, international law, economic development, and/or political science or sociology.
Sep 04, 2009 Academic, Other, Country:USA
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
