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- Showing 10 posts published between Jul 01, 2011 and Jul 31, 2011 [Show all]
After the crime: the power of restorative justice. Dialogues between victims and violent offenders
Violence, rape, murder and other abusive crimes: not usually pleasant subjects to read about, yet Susan Miller's book left this reader with a positive feeling. This is largely due to Miller herself, who presents the information in a straightforward, sympathetic but non-judgemental way; to Kim Book, who started the organization Victims' Voices Heard after her daughter was murdered; and to the participants themselves. Not all victims felt able to forgive, and this should not be a criterion for 'success'; but they followed the Amish precept: don't balance hurt with hate. Not all offenders accepted full responsibility. Miller divides restorative justice into diversion, taking the place of the criminal justice process for relatively minor cases, and 'therapeutic' RJ, where the offender is already in custody or has served a prison term. These cases are all in the latter category.
Jul 29, 2011 Dialogue, Prison, Book Review, Offender, Practice, Case:Violence, Victim, Case:Sexual, Case:Homicide, Forgiveness
Request from Marian Liebmann on restorative justice in prisons
Marian Liebmann is giving a presentation on this topic at a conference in Lisbon in October.
"Although I have given presentations on this topic many times before, I am aware that the situation in prisons changes rapidly, and would like to update my information. Please could you write to me with brief details of what you are doing, so that I can represent the situation accurately. I would be grateful if you could do this by the end of August, so that I have time to digest it and prepare. I will acknowledge all contributors in my presentation. Many thanks. Please e-mail me at: marian@liebmann.org.uk."
Giving back: RCI’s Restorative Justice Program helps inmates help others
from Christine Won's article in the Journal Times:
On a recent Friday morning, 13 inmates at the Racine Correctional Institution in Sturtevant diligently worked on their needlework, their nimble fingers pulling together tiny stitches or weaves. The fruits of their toil lay strewn about the tables: a Mickey Mouse look-alike, a doll, random bears and other stuffed animals, as well as scarves, hats and more slowly took shape.
Those bears and lamb pillows have made their way into little hands around the community, and those mittens and gloves will keep others warm this winter.
Charity Crafts is part of the prison’s Restorative Justice Program, through which inmates find ways to give back to the community, according to Tommie Thomas, RCI program supervisor.
Jul 28, 2011 Restitution, Region: North America and Caribbean, Country:USA, Prison
The shape of a Restorative Justice Circles, taps our intuition and engages us in the process
from Kris Miner's entry on Restorative Justice and Circles:
While exploring Circle images on the World Wide Web, I found this webpage. “Our initial exposure to an idea shapes our intuition”. The article goes on to explain that our intuition impacts how much we enjoy a subject. I think that the shape of being in Circle, is the shape of humane productivity.
Is restorative justice suited for gender-based violence?
from Sylvia Clute's article on Genuine Justice:
Feminists have long decried the deficiencies in the traditional criminal law system when it comes to gender-based violence. The criminal law system fails victims, offenders and the community; there are no winners. Most cases are never reported, and the reported cases have a high attrition rate. Few cases are actually prosecuted.
According to Melanie Randall, a law professor with expertise in legal remedies for gender violence, the needs of the victim are diametrically opposed to the needs of the criminal law system. That system is driven by complex rules; it challenges the victim’s credibility; she has no control; she must tell the state’s story instead of a coherent narrative around what happened to her. There is no protection against recall, and there is no safe face to face confrontation.
Jul 26, 2011 Practice, Victim, Case:Sexual, Policy, Case:Domestic Violence
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.
Jul 25, 2011 Story, Practice, Victim, Correspondent:Lisa Rea, Mediation, Other, Case:Violence, Region: North America and Caribbean, Case:Sexual, Case:Homicide, Forgiveness, Country:USA
Police back multi-agency hubs to reduce offending
from the article by Neil Puffett in Children and Young People Now:
The youth justice system is set to benefit from increased multi-agency working between police, education, social care and health teams across London that will provide massive public sector savings, the UK's lead police officer for children has claimed.
In an exclusive interview with CYP Now, Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner Ian McPherson, who is lead on children and young people at the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo), said the "multi-agency safeguarding hub" concept, pioneered in Devon, will divert children away from the criminal justice system and could lead to big savings.
Jul 22, 2011 Juvenile, Practice, Country:England&Wales, Region: Europe
Colorado mother wishes for meeting with son's killers
from Ivan Moreno's article in the San Francisco Chronicle:
The 3-year-old boy affectionately known as "Biscuit" was sleeping in the back of a parked old Cadillac when the shooting began.
Fourteen bullets hit the car in the drive-by shooting outside a northeast Denver duplex. Biscuit was shot in the head and died. His brother, Calvin, four days shy of his 7th birthday, and a teenage cousin were unhurt.
Sharletta Evans — mother of Biscuit, or Casson Xavier Evans — came to forgive the gunmen, who were 15 and 16 years old at the time of the Dec. 21, 1995, shooting. But it took years for her to decide she wanted to meet them in prison, hoping for closure.
A new Colorado law encourages the state Department of Corrections to facilitate such reconciliation meetings. Yet it's a process that requires they be safe and don't backfire on victims. And prison officials say there's simply no money to make it happen in the near future.
Jul 21, 2011 Dialogue, Victim, Offender, Region: North America and Caribbean, Prison, Case:Homicide, Country:USA
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.
Jul 20, 2011 Story, Region: North America and Caribbean, Country:USA
Doing justice honourably
from Janet Sim Elder's post on Per Crucem ad Lucem:
A crucial question in this election year is how do we do justice honourably with both victims and offenders? How can recidivism continue downwards and how do public attitudes change to being solidly evidence-based? How do we face the challenge of changing the justice landscape? Can we provide the moral courage to help our society take steps towards a more just and merciful society?
Jul 19, 2011 Region: Pacific, Biblical, Religion, Country:New Zealand, Victim
