Go to prison
Sep 30, 2009
posted by Andrea Schneider on Marquette University Law School Faculty Blog:
Last week I had the honor of joining my colleague Janine Geske on her regular journey to Green Bay Correctional Facility, a maximum-security prison reminiscent of the prison in Shawshank Redemption. The prisoners at Green Bay run the gamut of serious crimes from sexual assault to drug distribution to armed robbery to homicide. Janine runs a three-day session on restorative justice, meeting with about twenty prisoners as part of a several-month program on the challenges and possibilities faced by these men. She has been running this program here for years as part of our Restorative Justice Initiative, and I was so excited to finally fit this in my schedule. Having done this trip last week and then spent the past weekend in services for Rosh Hashanah, I have had plenty of time to reflect on crime, punishment, repentance, and redemption. In retrospect, I don’t know that I could have timed this better. Suffice it to say, the experience was amazing.
....
When we return, it is time to go around the circle and hear from the men. The statements are amazing – as Janine tells me, many of these men will never be released from prison. Their statements do not go to the parole board, and they often wouldn’t help them anyway. Almost all of them start by thanking the women for speaking, many of them are crying and talk about their own loss and vicitimization as part of what got them to prison in the first place. Here is a sampling:
“I want to apologize to you. I belong here and you have helped me understand the hurt that I have caused.”
“I will take your story and try to change the world for good.”
“I used to think that victimizing someone after you have been a victim is power. But this is real power, the power to help others, the power to help change.”
“I used to view myself as the victim and blame others. I never saw the ripple effect.”
“I was hurt so I wanted to hurt others.”
“Males are born but men are made – and this is one of the starting points.”
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