Real People, Real Stories

Stories of actual victims, offenders and community members who have participated in restorative processes help illustrate the benefits and limitations of restorative justice practices.

Editor. A victim-offender conference following a burglary

In a burglary case, victim-offender conferencing helps the victims to move on from the trauma of the experience and the offender feel like he has begun to make reparations for his crime.

Franklin, Robert. Family confronts loss, convicted killers in search for answers

After their daughter was killed, Don and Mary Streufert, made the choice to go and visit the two convicted killers in prison. For six years, they have been a part of victim offender mediation with Guy Sullivan and James Swanson. It has been a transformative experience for their whole family.

Editor. What constitutes a good referral to restorative justice? The lessons to be learned from one victim offender conference

The article tells about a crime that occurred, the effects it had on the victim, the preparation that went into planning for a victim-offender conference, the actual conference proceedings, and the outcomes for the victim and the offender psychologically. It then draws conclusions about why the conference was successful and what needs to be present to make such a conference effective.

Editor. International Restorative Justice Week

Two women who presented at an event hosted by the Restorative Justice Unit in honor of International Restorative Justice Week tell about their experiences with victim-offender conferencing after being victimized.

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.

Editor. Sino - Australian Seminar on the Protection of Criminal Victims

A report of the proceedings of the Sino-Australian Seminar on the Protection of Criminal Victims, where Chinese and Australian people involved with restorative justice came together to share information.

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.

DeVries, John. What would Restorative Justice look like in this case?

Before this mishap I had become an advocate for Restorative Justice. Having worked as a Chaplain in a Federal Penitentiary, I quickly learned that jail and imprisonment does punish, but does not make persons accountable for unacceptable behaviour. “The next time I won't get caught”, was a line I heard in the penitentiary. Do I charge Jack (18 yrs old)? My insurance agent said to charge him because you never know what the head injury could cause years from now. My lawyer said to charge him. The police had already reminded me that I could charge the errant young driver. Practice what you preach. What would restorative justice look like in this case, I wondered? (excerpt)

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)

Botha, M. Elaine. Christian Scholarship for Reconciliation? The Free University of Amsterdam and Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education

The theme of this chapter deals with the question of whether the two mnodels of Christian scholarship pursued by the two institutions [Free University and Potchefstroom University] actually contributed to societal reconciliation - reconciliation within racial and ethnic tensions as they have become apparent in South Africa. This narrows the focus of of reconciliation to a societal and political focus, which in turn shapes the question of whether a university as an academic community can or ought to in any way contribute to or become involved in the resolution of such tension. (excerpt)

Brands, Sandra. Program helps inmates learn a trade, pay back community

At the Minnesota Correctional Facility for Women in Shakopee, the inmates engage in a number of restorative justice programs. One lets the women learn technical skills and earn credits from a nearby college. Then they use those skills to complete projects that benefit the whole community. Learning skills makes their time in prison productive and aids reentry into society.

Editor. Video Review: The Meaning of Life

The inmates at Canada's minimum-security prison Kwikwexwelhp are part of a program modeled on Aboriginal spirituality practices of healing a person's soul first. The inmates, who are a mix of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people, learn how to be their own agents through productivity and acceptance of their crimes and their pasts. The prison works in partnership with a local Aboriginal community called Chehalis to connect the inmates with a life outside of the prison system. Many inmates find a chance to reconnect with their Aboriginal heritage and explore native expressions of spirituality without being forced into a mold of white Christianity, although the embrace of native spirituality is considered optional. Both the staff members and the community of Chehalis encourage transformation, while also affirming the inmates' personhood, worth, and abilities.

Ted Glynn and Rawiri McKinney and Janice Wearmouth. Restorative Justice: Two Examples from New Zealand Schools

In this article Janice Wearmouth, formerly professor of education at the University of Wellington, New Zealand and now at Liverpool Hope University, Rawiri McKinney, an advocate for Rangatahi who has recently completed his Master of Education degree, and Ted Glynn, foundation professor of teacher education at the University of Waikato, discuss two examples of restorative justice in practice to illustrate how community norms and values can help to encourage more socially appropriate behaviour. Both examples come from a New Zealand Maori context and interventions undertaken with young men whose behaviour was of concern in school and in the local neighbourhood. The interventions operated through traditional Maori protocols to shift the focus away from individuals on to the whole community in order to focus on 'putting things right' between all those involved in the wrong doing. These examples show how the use of traditional community resolution processes was able to resolve tensions, make justice visible and re-establish harmonious relations between the individuals, the school and between members of the community. The use of restorative practices in schools is not straightforward, however. The authors of this article argue that it requires that schools do not own or completely control the process but are responsive to the local context and recognise the important sources of support that may be found in some of the families and local voluntary community groups within it for addressing problematic student behaviour.

Petrick, Krista M. Tucker. This Teacher's Experience with Restorative Justice and Restorative Practice: A Narrative.

This narrative evaluates 1 teacher‟s journey through the use of restorative justice and restorative practice (RJ/RP) in education. The author sets out to explore how RJ/RP could be used to reduce suspensions and expulsions in schools as well as having a positive impact on stakeholders when implemented through a whole-school approach. Through the use of reflective journaling and autobiographical narrative, the author arrives at suggestions for how large Ontario school boards could implement RJ/RP programs and track their success. (Excerpt).

Siegel, Stephen. In Minnesota, justice is coming full circle

In this living room and in other sanctuaries throughout the state, volunteer judges are devoting hours, and potentially months, to an intense process of penalty and rehabilitation, meting out punishments tailor-made to satisfy victims and perpetrators alike. The concept is called "circle sentencing," and it is off to a promising start in Minnesota, the first U.S. state to try it, with support from local prosecutors, judges, offenders and public defenders. Fashioned after the practices of First Nation Indians in remote Yukon Territory, the circles - at this point reserved for juveniles and adults convicted of nonviolent misdemeanors - first appeared in Minnesota two years ago on the Mille Lacs Indian Reservation northwest of Minneapolis. Several small towns began using them last year; Minneapolis now holds about two circles a week. (excerpt)

Kummery, Glenn and Taylor, Bruce R. Family Group Conferencing

In a school close to Philadelphia, administrators are increasingly using family group conferencing to handle disciplinary problems amongst their students. The article describes how conferencing works and the positive effects it has had.

Adams, Jim. Programs bring offenders and victims face to face

A conferencing program in Chaska, Minnesota, gets coverage for the many juvenile cases it has helped resolve.

Harvey, Kay. One victim's 'wake-up call' produces a reconciliation

A man who was the victim of a burglary uses the opportunity to reach out to his community and strengthen their neighborly ties, including with the two teens who broke into his house.

Bartholomew, Therese and Bartholomew, Doug. The Final Gift -- A Documentary Film.

The Final Gift-- A Documentary Film offers an intimate look into one woman’s journey of healing following the violent death of her brother. Therese Bartholemew’s brother, Steve, died after being shot in an altercation at a club. This film results from her attempt to understand what happened and its impact on their family. It chronicles their emotions and responses from receiving the first phone call to the sentencing to Therese’s meeting with the offender.

O’Farrell, Eimear M.. The effects of participation of school children as mediators in contrast to non-mediators in a mentored mediation program as related to academic achievement, developmental disposition, and conflict orientation.

This study focused on the effects of elementary students’ participation in a mentored peer mediation program during a school year as it related to three variables, academic achievement, developmental disposition, and conflict orientation. Phase I, academic achievement, focused on the relationship between participation in this program and academic performance on the California STAR tests in English Language Arts. Archival data from approximately 1,180 upper grade students in seven elementary schools were studied to examine this relationship.Phase II, the developmental disposition component, aimed at gaining an understanding of the multidimensional nature of empathy. It focused on the cognitive responses of individuals, as well as the emotional facets of perspective taking as students engaged in mediator experiences. The instrument used to assess this component was the Davis Scales of Interpersonal Reactivity Index, which measured separate aspects of empathic reaction. Conflict Orientation was measured using a free-response questionnaire, providing a qualitative data component. Two hundred ninety seven upper grade students at five elementary schools participated in the dispositional and conflict orientation components. Four school districts with diverse socioeconomic, demographic, and ethnic representation were included in the study. Phase I data indicated that grade 5 was a critical year in the mentored mediation program, impacting academic achievement at a significantly greater level than the two other upper grade levels. The data suggested that grade 5 students may have benefited from two years of participation as mediators before realizing academic gains. Decreases in sixth grade participation due to attrition led to diminished representation of mediators. This perhaps accounted for the minimal academic gains evidenced at that grade level. Phase II data provided evidence that students demonstrated higher levels of developmental disposition and positive orientation toward conflict management when participating as mediation facilitators than when participating as nonmediator disputants. Mediators tended to implement effective conflict resolution skills, while non-mediators sought out peer mediators to resolve conflicts. It is hoped that the results of this study will contribute to the sustainability of mentored peer mediation programs in schools, by providing a clearer understanding of the interconnections among academic achievement, developmental disposition, and conflict orientation. (author's abstract)