Restorative justice: A community response when bad things happen

from Ben Ziegler's entry on Collaborative Journeys:

Bad things happen.  They did to Katy Hutchison on New Year’s Eve in 1997. Her husband Bob was beaten to death while checking on a party being thrown by their neighbour’s son.  It happened in Squamish, a small town just north of Vancouver.  A wall of silence grew up around the murder.  It was four years before Ryan Aldridge admitted to having delivered the fatal blow, was convicted of manslaughter, and sentenced to five years in prison.

Katy Hutchison’s response to the tragic event was not “get tough on crime”.   She did not see how that approach would build a stronger community.  She didn’t want to be re-victimized by the prevailing justice system.  Instead, she courageously reached out to Ryan, first through a formal victim/offender reconciliation process, and since, has maintained close contact with Ryan and his family.  She wanted healing, and sought it through Restorative Justice.  Read Katy and Ryan’s story of forgiveness and restoration.

Apr 19, 2010 Limitations, Support, Practice

• Read More