Offender Stories

You are forgiven: Family reunites with castaway son

From the article in the Solomon Star: “YOU are my son again” was the statement the son and the audience were waiting to hear. George Topou, has been waiting hopelessly to hear that statement from his father’s mouth, and it did emotionally assemble tears in everyone’s eyes, when John Tepala screamed them out loud with tears yesterday. Topou is a prisoner who is the ninth to reconcile with his victim and family members through the Sycamore Tree project.

The story of a wounded healer

From the article by Jackie Katounas in Issue 79 of the Rethinking Crime and Punishment Newsletter: For the best part of 25 years I was a career criminal, and often a prisoner - with little insight into the effects of my offending and limited respect for myself or others. I am not an academic and I have had limited tertiary education. Instead my training and credibility has grown out of the harshness of my own life experiences.

Editor. April 2008 Participation in a Victim Offender Conference presents offenders with a number of opportunities

A story illustrates how a victim-offender conference can have positive effects for the offender who is finally able to make some headway on behavioral transformation.

Stanley, J. Adrian. Long path to redemption.

Jonathan Price had spoken for more than the allotted three minutes. He glanced over, and noticed someone had unplugged the timer. The state lawmakers continued to listen to his story. Some of them had tears in their eyes. It was last March and Price was in Denver to talk about House Bill 08-1117, which would encourage courts to send juvenile offenders through a progressive, voluntary program called restorative justice. Price says it helped him through his "accident." (excerpt)

Editor. How restorative justice turned my life around.

Crime was a way of life for Peter Woolf - until he met two of his victims. Seeing their pain, the tough guy crumpled. He tells how their friendship turned his life around. (Publisher's description)

Anonymous. An inmate's story.

Part of this healing process, for me, was a seminar in which Wilma Derksen was the guest speaker. At this seminar, I was moved to tears by the strength and tenderness with which she spoke. She said that what most “victims” want from offenders is confirmation of change. This really made me think about what that meant. To this very day, I do not think that I will ever meet my own expectations of what that is. I believe that it is just that attitude that will help me stay on the healing path. I am now involved in the very long and arduous process of victim/offender mediation. I believe that this is important for me to do. Not for my need to be forgiven, but for my need to let the victim of crime know that no matter what path my life is on, in no way will this individual ever have to fear that I will cause them harm again. I would like to say that I would never be the one who causes harm to anyone again, but that is impossible, as I am human. (excerpt)

Editor. Victim offender interventions in 2007

Nine short summaries of the outcomes of several victim-offender conferences for various crimes.

. A personal awakening.

In the fall of 2009, I had the opportunity to become involved in Restorative Justice workshops at the federal institution where I am currently incarcerated; and through this process learn a rich and rewarding language that allows me to express this change. I now have a deeper understanding of words such as respect, compassion, dignity, honesty, openness, fairness, and equality. I also have a greater appreciation of the need for accountability, safety, inclusion, and interaction. By attending these workshops I am learning to nurture the seeds of hope that have been sown in my heart. I am better able to recognize, understand, and acknowledge all of my victims, as well as the harms that I have done them; respect the time and space that their healing will require and allow them that right; commit to working through the challenges that will present themselves throughout this process, and utilize the tools that I am developing to overcome them. Through this work I am striving to return some sense of safety and trust to my relationships with my family and my community. (excerpt)

Kelly, Russell. Victim-Offender Reconciliation Program – In the Beginning

Russell Kelly is now a restorative justice practitioner in Kitchener, Ontario. In 1974 he was a teenager who, with a friend, both under the influence of alcohol, committed a number of acts of vandalism one night in Elmira, Ontario. After being apprehended, they were turned over to Mark Yantzi, a probation officer and volunteer with the Mennonite Central Committee in Kitchener, and to Dave Worth, another volunteer. Yantzi and Worth, in coordination with the courts, arranged for the teenagers to meet with their victims to apologize, to hear their victims’ statements, to ask forgiveness of their victims, and to determine restitution. Thus arose the Victim-Offender Reconciliation Program in Kitchener and an oft-repeated story of the emergence of modern day victim-offender mediation.

Blomquist, Todd. Restorative Justice – Reflections on Dialogue

At the time of writing this reflection, Todd Blomquist was a resident of the Restorative Justice Unit at Grande Cache Institution, Alberta, Canada. Here he shares aspects of his personal journey into crime, as well his experiences in prison, particularly his exposure to restorative justice ideas and values through peacemaking circles at Grande Cache Institution. He credits these circles with his growing awareness of the impact of his crimes and his lifestyle decisions on himself and on others. He expresses the growth and hope he has gained from restorative justice ideas, the circles and peer support in the Restorative Justice Unit, and the welding career he is learning while incarcerated.