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.

Restorative justice implementation

from Connie Baum's entry on Mother Connie Sez: Former gang members who have drastically transformed their lives from criminal activity to contributing to society in meaningful and positive ways are already moving about in groups of students to steer young people away from gangs and get them into programs that are more appropriate. People who are interested in getting Restorative Justice to replace the punitive methods employed by Retributive Justice are working diligently with Nebraska legislators, city councils, youth groups, support groups, churches and ministers and clubs within prison walls to educate people.

What will happen to me?

from the photo book by Howard Zehr and Lorraine Stutuzman Amstutz: 3 million children are estimated to have a parent in prison on any given day in the United States. These children share the pains of separation experienced by other children who are without regular contact with one or both parents. Added to this, however, are the special pains of having a parent or parents in prison: shame, guilt, questions, often trauma that crosses generations.

Finding forgiveness

from SBS Dateline: Dateline has a touching story of friendship between a woman who was shot and critically injured, and the stranger who attempted to kill her. Jackie Millar took years to recover after she was shot in the head. She remains almost blind and permanently brain damaged, unable to even remember bringing up her own sons.

The conversation: Does restorative justice work? Yes!

from the interview by Oliver Laughland in The Guardian: The Ministry of Justice is considering increasing the use of restorative justice – in which offenders are encouraged to meet their victims – as part of its forthcoming green paper on criminal justice reform. Oliver Laughland brings together 34-year-old Reggie Aitchison, a prolific offender and drug user from Widnes, Cheshire, and 72-year-old grandmother, Kathleen, whose house he burgled, to discuss their experience of going through the restorative justice process and their reflections on the crime.

Media toolkit for restorative justice organizations

from the introduction by Brunilda Pali: Citizens generally do not make in-depth research on important issues, like crime and justice, and scientific research has shown that the public lacks a clear understanding of RJ. Research has also shown that the public relies especially on mass media for information that enables them to make opinions on crime and punishment. The information transmitted through the media can come from different sources, and RJ organisations should be one of the main sources to provide information. But in order to gain access to the mass media, these organisations must first understand the media, and learn the skills and the techniques needed to communicate with them.

Letter: Restorative Justice Program a valuable resource

from the letter by Conor B. Stott in Oregon Daily Emerald: Every day at this University I am constantly discovering new opportunities and programs available to us students. Last spring, after an unfortunate incident on campus caused by my friend and me, we had the opportunity to redeem our actions through the Restorative Justice Program at the University. At the time, I knew absolutely nothing about this program, and I am sure most students are currently unaware of what restorative justice is and how it works. The Restorative Justice Program is a group effort between Conflict Resolution Services and the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards to resolve students’ infractions against the University in a manner that caters to the needs and wishes of both parties involved.

Restorative Justice

an entry by Yambo or theRevCounter.com: Antisocial Networking for Bikers: We had a tyre slashed on the car last November. Ours was one of 67 or so tyres slashed on about 52 cars, all done by a group of kids but one lad in particular did the bulk of them. Despite a big effort by the police the main culprit wasn't prosecuted by the CPS because "there was insufficient evidence to ensure a conviction". A few weeks ago I was asked by the local CBM if I'd be interested in this Restorative Justice thing for one of the lads involved - who admitted he might have done one or two tyres but again wasn't to be prosecuted. I invited the CBM round to discuss whether I wanted to be involved or not. It seems that even though the lad was never charged he wants to make an effort to turn his life around and had asked for the RJ thing, although I suspect he'd been talked into it by his youth worker or the plod. Apparently with support from his family and his own efforts he's making good progress and hasn't been in bother since the night of the short knives.

Healing scars that can’t be seen

from Andrea J. Cook's article in the Rapid City Journal: Three years after their lives violently collided, Shaun Herrod, his fiancee Agnes Steele, and Maconnell Baker seem an unlikely trio to sit in the same room enthusiastically discussing Herrod’s upcoming college graduation. Life unexpectedly changed for all three of them on May 7, 2008, when Baker — who was high at the time — drove his car into Herrod’s on a north Rapid City street. As the third anniversary of the accident approaches, the three talk about switching the focus of May 7 from a horrible accident to a memorable graduation.

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?

TV captures killer driver's remorse

from John cousins' article in Bay of Plenty Times: A trail-breaking television documentary featuring an emotionally harrowing face-to-face meeting between killer driver Kristy King and one of her victim's families will have a strong Tauranga connection. Tauranga restorative justice facilitators Tim Clarke and Sharon Stewart play a pivotal role in the conference which screens tomorrow on TV2's 20/20 programme. A documentary team were there to film the raw emotions of the conference which preceded King's sentencing last month on three charges of careless driving causing death.

Possible ABC TV series showing victim-offender encounters

from Michele Rosenthal's entry on Heal My PTSD: Last week I got a very interesting call from ABC TV. They’re developing a 20/20 episode or a series based on the subject of restorative justice. I had a long chat with Andrew Sullivan about his expectations for the piece and what they hope to achieve with it. He mentioned that they are actively seeking survivors who would be right for the series; I offered to help him reach out. ....After our conversation Andrew summarized the idea in an email to me. I’m sharing it with you in case any of you would like to follow up with him.

Restorative justice and cheating in class

from Ben Chun's blog And Yet It Moves: Adventures in Teaching and Technology: I busted two kids for cheating in my AP Computer Science class today. What I didn’t know last night, while researching and documenting the way they cheated, is how much I would learn from that experience. ....I think in some circles Restorative Justice (RJ) has been presented as or labeled a “soft” solution that avoids actual punishment. But what I saw today was a much more satisfying solution to a the problem than an arbitrary and possibly ineffective punishment. As the dean and I stepped the two students (individually) through the process of answering the set of questions, I decided to throw in my own: “Are there any other cases, in this or any other class, where you crossed the line from research into academic dishonesty or plagiarism?” Now I’m not sure if the answer would have come out via another process, but I want to give some credit to RJ for helping one student admit that, yes, there were other classes in which this happened.

Restorative justice & restorative mediation

from Julie Speer's blog entry: This past year I’ve had the good fortune of telling several stories related to restorative justice and restorative mediation. Colorado is leading the way with RJ (Restorative Justice), and has gotten a large grant from the Department of Justice to look at how using RJ can decrease the costs to the system. When offenders go through an RJ process, their rate of recidivism is astonishingly low!

Stories from victims who had the opportunity for restorative justice

from the Why Me? website: Why Me? gives victims who have experienced restorative justice the opportunity to tell their stories, through print and broadcast media, as well as directly to politicians and policy makers. We also highlight the benefits of restorative justice through a range of creative means, including drama, film and art. The absence of restorative justice in the criminal justice system highlights the lack of respect for the experience of victims and the lack of space for their voice to be heard. Confidence in the system is low. Many people, whether victims or not, feel marginalised, believing that the system is more about offenders than them. Why me is working with all victims who support our aims to find out from them how the criminal justice system can be improved.

Alcoholic boy of nine found in thug family during anti-social behaviour crackdown

from Krissy Storrar's article in the Daily Mirror: Officials probing a family terrorising neighbours were stunned when they found their boy of nine was an alcoholic. ....Residents had been making 13 complaints a month about the thuggish family amid claims of menacing and lewd language, criminal damage, vandalism and threats. Anti-social behaviour officer Richard Jordan said: “People were so intimidated by this family at least two neighbours moved away just to escape them.

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.

Rape victim faces her demon

from Carolyne Meng-Yee's article on nzherald.co.nz: One of the country's most notorious killers has told one of his victims what she has waited nearly 15 years to hear - he raped her. Hayden Taylor, 35, who is on preventive detention at Paremoremo Prison for the murder of pregnant teenager Nicola Rankin in 1996, has confessed to Amanda Watt that he assaulted her in the months before Rankin died. The pair met in prison in an emotion-charged restorative justice hearing.

The story is true

from Howard Zehr's post on Restorative Justice Blog: Our histories, our identities, our meanings for our lives are understood in and conveyed through our stories. We often experience trauma when those stories are disrupted. The process of transcending trauma requires us to “re-story” our lives. This is true for those who are victimized but it is often true for those who offend as well.... Judicial trials are also about story. [Bruce] Jackson notes in The Story is True that trials are a competition between different ways to frame ambiguous material. They are often more about winning more than about truth; the instrument is the development of a plausible story (p. 123).

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.