Practitioner Stories

Restorative justice approach to schoolboy assault

from the Nottinghamshire Police webpage: A new approach to resolving criminal matters has been used to deal with an assault on a Nottingham schoolboy. A 14-year-old pupil collapsed after he was assaulted in a classroom by a fellow schoolboy at the National Church of England Academy on 22 September 2011.

Women key in making peace

from the article by Yvette Moore: ...."The first thing that came to my mind was, ‘Wow, finally an acknowledgement that, first, we [women] are the ones that bare the greatest brunt of all of the world’s conflicts,’” Ms. [Lehmah] Gbowee said, sharing her initial reactions to the news she and two other women had received the [2011 Nobel Peace Prize].

Walla Walla prison restorative dialogue

From the article by Lorenn Walker on the Restorative Practices Blog: Colleen Shapel’s husband Bob, who was also her best friend for most of her life, was senselessly murdered in a February 2004 robbery. Melissa, Colleen’s oldest daughter, and William Schorr, a co-defendant who plead guilty to the murder, also participated in the restorative dialogue (another defendant who was determined to be most responsible for the murder refused to participate). After I was first contacted, and until the dialogue was finally conducted six months later in July, I spoke on the phone with Colleen, Melissa and William frequently. I met Colleen and Melissa in person several times a few days, and William a few hours, before the dialogue. I felt my job was to mainly listen to their pain, and simply be present with them in their suffering.

Restorative justice in the community

from Melanie G. Snyder's blog entry: Michael was 16. He was an angry kid. He spent most of his days just “hanging out” around the neighborhood. One day, Michael was “hanging out” in a small Lancaster grocery store. While he was in the store, Michael pulled a cigarette lighter out of his pocket, lit the corners of a few boxes on the shelves and watched as the flames spread. Then he ran away. The fire caused $1500 worth of damage. Michael got caught, and he was sent to juvenile court. If we think about how the traditional criminal justice system would have most likely handled this, Michael would probably have been charged with arson (a felony), possibly charged as an adult, and likely would have been sent to juvenile detention or jail for some period of time. After coming out of detention or jail, having a felony record would have affected the rest of Michael’s life in numerous ways.

Listening to crime victims: North Carolina restorative justice conference

by Lisa Rea When crime victims speak about the effect violent crime has had on their lives you have to listen. On June 9th I moderated a crime victims roundtable during the 3rd Annual Restorative Justice Conference in Raleigh, North Carolina coordinated this year by Campbell University Law School. The roundtable called "Listening to Crime Victims: Their Journeys Toward Healing" was sponsored by the Journey of Hope: From Violence to Healing. The four victims of violence who told their stories were Bill Pelke, chair, Journey of Hope: From Violence to Healing (Alaska), Stephen Watt, Stephen Watt Ministries (Wyoming) , Bess Klassen-Landis, musician and teacher (Vermont), and Kim Book, executive director, Victims Voices Heard (Delaware). No matter how many crime victims panels I have moderated the stories are always riveting and often what I hear the victims say is new even when I am familiar with the stories. I learn something new as the victims move along in their lives---their own personal journeys.

Storytelling: Simple but profound

by Lynette Parker I hesitate to write about storytelling and restorative justice as a lot of people have written about the profound impact of this form of communication. A quick search for the term “storytelling” on Restorative Justice Online returns 29 different entries by people such as Kris Miner and Kay Pranis. Yet, I’ve recently been reminded of how important storytelling can be not only in communication but for an individual processing through pain and loss. I remember talking with a woman who had lost her son in an automobile accident that involved drunk driving. She expressed a series of emotions ranging from grief to anger to denial. In telling me about the impact of her son’s death, she also described her anger and frustration with the criminal justice system in that her family was denied an opportunity to tell their story. She summed up all this in saying that they deserved the right to have the conference with the young man who had been driving that day. They deserved to be able to tell him how profoundly that one night had changed their lives.

The Salvation Army and restorative justice

from the article in The Dignity Project: “I will never forget my first brush with injustice” says Matt Delaney. “I was so hurt. I wanted pay back. I wanted to retaliate, to return the favour that I didn’t ask for. I did fight back. Strange though, after I unleashed my vengeance, all I felt was empty and alone. What was wrong with me? Where was the justice I was looking for? Why didn’t I feel justified?

The promise of restorative justice: New approaches for criminal justice and beyond

reviewed by Martin Wright It is becoming increasingly clear that the principles of restorative justice can be used, as the editors say, outside the formal criminal justice system, and this book bears witness to that. Half is about criminal justice, and half about other applications in schools and elsewhere. The contributors reflect the book’s origins among a group at Fresno Pacific University in California, but other chapters come from Bulgaria, Canada, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom.

The Virginia Center for Restorative Justice

from Sylvia Clute's post in Genuine Justice: How does a community establish a restorative justice program? It happens at the local level when committed individuals decide to make it happen. Take the Virginia Center for Restorative Justice (VCRJ), for example, a nonprofit established late last year in Richmond, Virginia. VCRJ was founded by its Executive Director, Judy Clarke, a woman whose commitment to restorative justice is grounded in her abiding faith in God and in the fundamental goodness of humanity. But this journey began for Judy many years ago when she visited the Richmond City Jail for a day with a group of business leaders who were charged with finding a solution to the jail’s problems.

Blackburn father wants to meet his son's killer

from the article by Sam Chadderton in This Is Lancashire: The father of a man who died from a single punch in Blackburn town centre wants to meet his son’s killer. William Upton, 17, is currently serving half of a three-and-a-half year custodial sentence after he was convicted of the manslaughter of 24-year-old Adam Rogers, earlier this year. Now Adam’s dignified dad Dave Rogers has expressed a wish to speak face-to-face with the Rishton teenager as part of a ‘restorative justice’ initiative.

Lisa Rea interviews Stephen Watt

by Lisa Rea: The following interview is with Stephen Watt, a former Wyoming state trooper and two term state legislator who was shot multiple times by a fleeing bank robber. Lisa Rea's interview focuses on how the impact of a severely violent crime continues 20 years later. Mr. Watt has met with the offender, forgiven him and a friendly relationship has grown up between them. Nevertheless, he continues to suffer. Can restorative justice open doors for further healing in a victim of violent crime who is suffering continuing, severe trauma?

Angela's tears - A presentation on the São Paulo RJ projects in Rio de Janeiro

From the post at the Restorative Circles Blog Yesterday was the first formal presentation of the São Paulo RJ project, 'Justiça e educação', to the justice and education communities in Rio de Janeiro. Most of those who have made these projects possible - in São Caetano do Sul, in Guarulhos, in Heliopolis, in Campinas and elsewhere - spoke, and even though the city was under the second day of torrential rain and it was the friday before a holiday weekend, there wasn't a free seat and many stood until the end.

'Talking stick' helps facilitate restorative justice response to destructive behaviors

 

Restorative Practices and the Transformation at West Philadelphia High School

West Philadelphia High School has undergone a transformation. It has been on Pennsylvania’s “Persistently Dangerous Schools” list for six years, but the implementation of restorative practices and strong leadership, headed by principal Saliyah Cruz, have made a huge difference. The culture and climate of the school have improved significantly, violent and serious incidents have plummeted, and rates of discipline procedures such as suspensions and expulsions have decreased dramatically. (from the article written by Laura Mirsky for the Restorative Practices E-Forum).

Lynette Parker: Listening to stories

“You don’t know what it means to have a member of the community listen to my story before making his decision.” One young man summed up his experience in a restorative conference with a community representative. Convicted of armed robbery, he had already served two years in prison and returned to his family when the conference took place. His statement reminded me of how powerful a restorative process can be.

Editor. A victim-offender conference: putting the people most affected by a murder, the victims, at the centre of the process

After two young men fight resulting in the death of one, it takes eight years before a victim-offender conference is held. The conference brings peace to both the victim's mother and the offender.

Nelson, Tanya. Merrill Middle School Meets Restorative Justice.

Schools are a microcosm of our world. They demonstrate the outcome of our investment, the potential, and its continuous need to adapt to changing times. Walking into an elementary school, middle school, high school, you may actually be able to feel this. Conflict is palpable much of the time. On the surface, Merrill Middle School in Oshkosh, WI, has a lot working against it. Oshkosh is a largely blue collar town and about 50% of Merrill's students are from families at or below poverty level. Many families are unable to stay an entire school year.Relationships are difficult to establish. How has Merrill brought it all together? In 2003, it ended its "honor level" approach to discipline in favor of a restorative justice approach. By creating circles and a core concept of restorative justice, staff and students have joined forces to create better communication when problems occur. (excerpt)

Schwartz, Sunny and Boodell, David. Dreams from the Monster Factory.

Dreams from the Monster Factory tells the true story of Sunny Schwartz's extraordinary work in the criminal justice system and how her profound believe in people's ability to change is transforming the San Francisco jails and the criminals incarcerated there. (From publisher's description)

Pautz. Marie-Isabelle. Empowering the Next Generation: Restorative Practices in a Preschool

My goals include: developing stronger relationships between pupils and teachers; helping pupils and teachers develop problem-solving techniques; giving pupils skills to work through conflicts (to express themselves clearly, set their own boundaries and reduce reliance on teacher intervention); and shifting teacher-pupil conflicts. My aim is to move teacher-pupil conflicts from power struggles, shaming and punishment led chiefly by teachers to problem solving-focused conflict resolution methods and/or behavior consequences cooperatively achieved by teachers and pupils together. (excerpt)

Goldstone, Sharon. What place for Restorative Justice in the Probation Service?

. s a qualified mediator and trainer,I have been able to use my training and experience in my work in the Victims Unit to work between victims, family members and offenders to mediate and facilitate transformational experiences which have impacted into the lives of the people concerned. I am repeating one case study so that those working with offenders are aware that there is some potential for Victim Offender Mediation from a Restorative Justice perspective. (excerpt)