february - week four - social justice

7/31/2019 February - Week Four - Social Justice

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FEBRUARY RECONCILIATIONWeek #4. Social Justice Restorative Justice

Material and Tradition Elements for this Block. Handout: 4 Working Definitions for Restorative Justice. (Below) Handout: When Ed and David Broke Into Mildreds House and Took Things, RJ City Case Study.

http://www.rjcity.org/the-project/documents/Case%20Study%2030-10-09.pdf Handout: CASE TWO in Forgiveness and Crime: The Possibilities of Restorative Justice, Walter

Dickey, Exploring Forgiveness , eds. Robert D. Enright and Joanna North. Scripture: Luke 15:11-32 The Prodigal Son. Text: 3 prayer options

"Traditional criminal justice is about when violence or other crime is committed againstthe state. Restorative justice is against a human being and relationship.

Traditional criminal justice, when you violate, they're looking for punishment.Restorative justice is looking for obligation and repair."

Sunny Schwartz on The Oprah Winfrey Show

Forgiveness is not cheap. Forgiveness is not amnesia.Forgiveness is not some vague, nebulous idea.

It has to do with uniting people through practical politics.Without forgiveness there i s no future.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Forgiveness is to set a prisoner free, and to realize the prisoner was you. Corrie Ten Boom

Objectives.
http://www.rjcity.org/the-project/documents/Case%20Study%2030-10-09.pdfhttp://www.rjcity.org/the-project/documents/Case%20Study%2030-10-09.pdfhttp://www.rjcity.org/the-project/documents/Case%20Study%2030-10-09.pdf


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Bibles.

Presentation of The Material. 30 min.BE SURE TO REVIEW THIS MATERIAL IN ADVANCE for suitability, especially Case Two.

You may consider assigning one or more handouts as advance homework.1. 4 Working Definitions for Restorative Justice. (Below)2. When Ed and David Broke Into Mildreds House and Took Things, RJ City Case Study.

http://www.rjcity.org/the-project/documents/Case%20Study%2030-10-09.pdf 3. CASE TWO in Forgiveness and Crime: The Possibilities of Restorative Justice, Walter

Dickey, Exploring Forgiveness , eds. Robert D. Enright and Joanna North.

Distribute handouts to group. Read aloud together 2 or more of the working definitions.

Having considered the basic concepts, shift to the Ed and David story. Though its visually-appealing format helps, the document is still long, so select in advance which pages of thestory you would like the group to read/enact. Choose/assign roles, and walk through thestory aloud ; though the document isnt structured exactly like a play, it can be fun for somebodyto read the boxes for Mildred, David, Ed, Betty, etc.

Gut Response. 8 min. Give participants five to eight minutes to get initial responses to this material down on paper.Encourage them include intellectual and emotional reactions, what their favorite bit/quote is,and anything in between. Invite them to consider any previous experiences they might havehad with restorative justice.
http://www.rjcity.org/the-project/documents/Case%20Study%2030-10-09.pdfhttp://www.rjcity.org/the-project/documents/Case%20Study%2030-10-09.pdfhttp://www.rjcity.org/the-project/documents/Case%20Study%2030-10-09.pdf


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Though it is an ideal scenario, what strategies struck you as most powerful? Most do-able? Least realistic?

How is the framework changed if we add and God to the end of principle #1? How do the principles of restorative justice resonate (or not) with Christian theologyand tradition? (sin, redemption, resurrection, body of Christ, etc etc!)

If your group chooses to engage Case Two, plan on another 30 minutes of reading/processing time. Again, this example is a powerful and true instance of restorative justice at work in a context where human brokenness may seem most challenging to heal, but itdoes describe a violent rape, so proceed with sensitivity to all participants.

After reading silently or aloud, allow for group reflection: how was restorative justice at work?What did you hear in this story? What do we have to learn from the experiences of this victimand this offender?

The Tradition. 20 min.Read aloud Luke 15:11-32. Read twice, alternate readers; or the leader might assign roles(father, elder son, younger son).

Discussion questions: Who is the victim? The offender? If you knew nothing about Christianity except for this Scripture passage, what would you

assume about what Christians believe about sin? About forgiveness? How do the possible lessons we might derive from this parable from Jesus a) clash and

b) coincide with modern American concepts of justice?

For deeper discussion, read aloud (or distribute as handout) the following quote from Episcopalpriest and former chief of police, Rev. David Couper, and note together how his observations

h ( t) g di i th f :


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distribute and redistribute, if necessary , as he sees itYet the elder don wishes to bringhimself into this question and to refuse forgiveness to his brother. And that is his

choice. But the full worth of this story and its effectiveness as a model for bothforgiveness and restorative justice remains, despite the actions and words of the elderbrother.

Synthesis. 5 min. Heads/Hearts/Hands

Go around the circle and have each participant name one thing they take from this session thatthey will think about (heads), something they are feeling (heart), and one thing they want to dowith the new information they have (hands). As a model and concept, restorative justicecertainly synthesizes our heads, our hearts, and our hands!

Prayer. 5 min. Depending on the particular goals of your group, or where the groups conversation haswandered, consider one or more of the following three prayers to close your groups time of worship. And/or, this might be a moment when giving the group a chance to share aloud inprayer the ways they are grateful to God, and the petitions they have for God.

Prayer of Commitmentby Michel Bouttier

Appoint me anew to my village.Let nothing in me withdraw from it.Keep me from evasions,

if thi g ld b i h l


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seem to get us nowhere,

its time to remember the humility part that it is you who have made usand not we ourselves;that the saving of the worldor even one part of itis not on our shoulders.It is then we can come unto you,

and you will give us rest.With rest well remember what it is we are about. Amen.

I Need to Forgive and Be Forgivenby Kenneth G. Phifer, A Book of Uncommon Prayer

O Lord, I come to my prayers with an open woundthat is difficult to heal.

It was inflicted by my friend.I have been wounded before,But somehow the thrusts of an enemy do not leave the marks

that the wounds of a friend leave.The scars that remain longest

are the ones we receivein the houses of our friends, our families, our lovers.

Scars inflicted by opponents heal over and fade.The cutting words of someone about whom we care little


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Help me by your Spirit to learn to touch otherswith gentler hands and with trembling fingers.

Keep me from being so clumsy as to inflict needless wounds.And when I err,

when I misinterpret,when I fail to heed the messages that come from those I love,

Forgive me.When I gash someone,

whether carelessly or out of my own wounded spirit,make me quick to see what I have done

and ready to say, Im sorry. You have forgiven me so much, O God,Forgive me this

the wounds received by othersin my house of love. Amen .

*** additional resources ***

Restorative Justice Online http://www.restorativejustice.org/ Forgiveness: A Time to Love & A Time to Hate, PBS film series.

http://www.pbs.org/programs/forgiveness/ This link from the National Institute of Justice is archived and 10+ year s old,

but it remains one of the best primers on the fundamental concepts of restorative justice! http://www.nij.gov/nij/topics/courts/restorative-

justice/fundamental-concepts.htm The School of Religion at Queen's University offers Master of Divinity andBachelor of Theology degree programs with a concentration in RestorativeJustice! http://wwwqueensu ca/religion/theology/grad/programs/m div
http://www.restorativejustice.org/http://www.restorativejustice.org/http://www.pbs.org/programs/forgiveness/http://www.pbs.org/programs/forgiveness/http://www.nij.gov/nij/topics/courts/restorative-justice/fundamental-concepts.htmhttp://www.nij.gov/nij/topics/courts/restorative-justice/fundamental-concepts.htmhttp://www.nij.gov/nij/topics/courts/restorative-justice/fundamental-concepts.htmhttp://www.queensu.ca/religion/theology/grad/programs/m-div-restorative.htmlhttp://www.queensu.ca/religion/theology/grad/programs/m-div-restorative.htmlhttp://www.nij.gov/nij/topics/courts/restorative-justice/fundamental-concepts.htmhttp://www.nij.gov/nij/topics/courts/restorative-justice/fundamental-concepts.htmhttp://www.pbs.org/programs/forgiveness/http://www.restorativejustice.org/


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Four (4) Working Definitions for RESTORATIVE JUSTICE

From Restorative Justice Online:

Restorative justice emphasizes repairing the harm caused by crime. When victims,offenders and community members meet to decide how to do that, the results canbe transformational.

From the National Institute of Justice:

For some time now there has been growing dissatisfaction with the justice system.Citizens feel disconnected, victims are dissatisfied, and those working in the systemare frustrated. Policymakers are increasingly concerned about the burgeoning cost of justice in the face of this discontent and the high rates of recidivism that exist..

Over the past decades, there has been growing interest in new approaches to justice,which involve the community and focus on the victim.

The current system, in which crime is considered an act against the State, works ona premise that largely ignores the victim and the community that is hurt most bycrime. Instead, it focuses on punishing offenders without forcing them to face theimpact of their crimes.

Restorative justice principles offer more inclusive processes and reorient thegoals of justice. Restorative justice has been finding a receptive audience, as it creates common ground which accommodates the goals of many constituencies andprovides a collective focus The guiding principles of restorative justice are:


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From Wikipedia:

RESTORATIVE JUSTICE (also sometimes called "reparative justice ) is an approachto justice that focuses on the needs of the victims and the offenders, as well as theinvolved community, instead of satisfying abstract legal principles or punishing theoffender. Victims take an active role in the process, while offenders are encouragedto take responsibility for their actions, "to repair the harm they've done byapologizing, returning stolen money, or community service". Restorative justiceinvolves both victim and offender and focuses on their personal needs. In addition, it provides help for the offender in order to avoid future offences. It is based on atheory of justice that considers crime and wrongdoing to be an offence against anindividual or community, rather than the state. Restorative justice that fostersdialogue between victim and offender shows the highest rates of victim satisfactionand offender accountability.

From Walter Dickey, Univ. of Wisconsin Law School, formerWisc. Head of Corrections:

RESTORATIVE JUSTICE defines justice as the restoration to wholeness of thosewhose lives and relationships have been broken or deeply strained by criminaloffense. This understanding of justice focuses on the harm the offense has caused tothe victim, to the victim-offender relationship, and to the relationship of both thevictim and the offender to the community. It asks: How can the harm be remedied?

How can the victims material loss be restored? How can the emotional trauma behealed? How can the relationship between the victim and offender, broken by theoffense, be repaired?


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RJ City SM Case StudyWhen Ed and David Broke into Mildred s House

and Took Things

A Story about RJ City s Response to Crime, Victims and OffendersOne afternoon two young men broke into a house, ransacked it and took small valuables they could easily sell.

This is the story of those two men, the woman who lived in the house, and how RJ City responded to all of them. RJ City SM is creating asystem that will allow it to respond as restoratively as possible to all crimes, all victims and all offenders.

In the course of this story you will meet family members and friends of all three. You will see how the crime had effects that wentbeyond the harm to the immediate victim.

And you will observe how RJ City s SM response is different from contemporary criminal justice.

FeaturesSome of the unique features that you will notice in this Case Study include:

Restorative processes suchas circles are routinelyused.

Victim support isoffered from themoment a crimetakes place.

The Break-In

Mildred Returns Home

2

2

Contents

When cases go to Adversarial Court,


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Page 1 RJ City sm yCase Stud

The Break-In

One afternoon,two young menknocked on thedoor of a home.Getting noanswer, theybroke in. Theymoved quicklythrough thehouse, looking forsmall items they

could carry easily.

Let s get out of here, one of them said,stuffing the last of the loot in his pocket.

They never thought about who lived inthe house, or how those people wouldfeel when they got back home.

They foundwhat they

werelooking for

in the backbedroom.

Theyransackedthe room,grabbing

things theycould fence.

All right, said theother, pulling a watchout of a drawer. They

hurried out of thehouse

and randown

thestreet.

Mildred owns the house and has livedalone for two years since her husbanddied.

The day of theMildred


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Page 2RJ City: Case Study

When Officer

Randy was sureno one wasinside, Mildred,Betty, John andhe went throughthe housetogether.

Mildred was horrified when she saw her

bedroom. Someone had emptied everydrawer and ransacked the place.

Just as she had feared, theanniversary watch was missing,

along with jewelry and somemoney.

Who canhelp meclean up,Mildredworried.

My dooris kickedin; I won tbe safe.

Victim

Support for Mildred

John toldMildred thata volunteerfrom his

John told her about a group of volunteersfrom a nearby church that helps withcrime scene clean-up and repair.

Bettyinsisted thatMildred stay

ith h f


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Page 3 RJ City: Case Study

So this is Mildred s support team: herdaughter Betty, Victim Support Co-ordinator John, and Helen the volunteer.

The Arrest

Two weeks later the police received a tipabout who had done the burglary, andboth young men were arrested.

This is Ed. He has a previous convictionfor bur lary. He was 19 years old when

This is David. He s never been in troublebefore. He was 18 and in his final year of

arrested andnot employedor going toschool.

Ed deniedhaving anything to do with thebreak-in, oreven being withDavid.

high school.

After an initialdenial, David

soon broke downand confessed.He wasashamed, andworried abouthow his folkswould respond.

We are sorry that thiscrime took place in RJCity. We believe thatyou were responsible.

You may require us

Our commitment toyou:

To include you. To help you makeamends and to returnt th it

Officer Randygave both Edand David abrochure with

He told the police where some of the stolen property was, but

some of it had already been sold,including the anniversary watch.


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David andthe Justice

System

David wanted tomake thingsright, so he metwith Brenda, anOffender Supportofficer. She toldhim aboutmaking amendsin RJ City: hewould apologize to Mildred, answer herquestions, pay restitution and/or do any

community service they agreed on.

David wanted toknow how hecould do that.There are twooptions,

The alternative is to meet with Mildred,answer questions she may have, andtogether decide what needs to be done tomake amends.

Brenda madesure that David

had theopportunity to

After learning more about restorativecircles, David decided that he would liketo participate in one, if he could bring his

parents and some

Brenda said.Which one wetake dependson what youand Mildredwant.

Soon JudgeVeronica, theInvestigating

Magistrate will beissuing a report

about the burglary.This will include arecommended

amount of restitution,

Brenda continued.

If you and Mildred agreewith the report, the

Magistrate will enter anorder requiring you to

pay restitution. Youcan also send Mildreda written apology, if you wish.


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Cases go to Adversarial Court if the suspectdenies responsibility or denies legal guilt.

Suspects have the right to counsel in anAdversarial Court proceeding.

Suspects are also told about cooperativeprocesses, such as restorative circles.

These are used only when the suspectadmits responsibility.

Victims also have the right to appear witha lawyer concerning the charge, restitutionand protection, if necessary. So therecould be three attorneys in these trials.

123

Mildred and

the JusticeS stem

John kept Mildred informed about theprogress of the investigation, including the arrests of David and Ed.

Once it was clearthat Davidacceptedresponsibility butEd didn t, Johnexplained thealternatives beforeMildred.

Ed s situation was different. Because Eddenied he was involved, his case wouldgo to Adversarial Court for trial.

The prosecution would try to prove that

She couldask theInvestigating Magistrate toorder David

John described how restorative circlesworked, and explained that David waswilling to participate in one. Mildreddecided that she wanted to as well, aslong as Betty and John could be there,

Ed ilt Mild d


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Mildred invited Betty and her husband tocome.

She also asked John and Officer Randy toparticipate.

Mildred and David agreed to hold thecircle at the Community Centre because it

had a room large enough to hold everyonewho would come, and because its centrallocation made it easy for people to getthere.

So did his uncle, withwhom he got along well inpart because of theirmutual interest in fishing.

Brendaattendedas well.

David s parentsattended.

And he invited hisbaseball coach, even

though he had recentlybeen kicked off the teamfor disciplinary problems.

Because of thenature of thecrime, twopeoplefacilitated the

George is avolunteer with

skills infacilitating

multi-cultural,

Barbara, one of thepeople whorecently moved intoMildred sneighborhood


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David s coach said he was surprised Davidinvited him to the circle. He had recently

kicked David off the baseball team after hestarted a fight with a teammate. David was

David s parents disclosedthat his Dad had lost his

job six months ago. Thefinancial anxiety hadstrained everyone srelationships. His Dadhad recently gotten a job,

David s Mom saidthat David

seemed to beangry all thetime, and that hehad startedspending timewith young menlike Ed whomthey were worriedwould get him introuble.

a good player, but hadrecently becomedisruptive and angry. Hewouldn t talk about whatwas going on, and afterthe fight the coach felt hehad to remove him fromthe team.

but his shift was at night, which meant heslept in the afternoon. He and David hadgotten into arguments about how muchnoise David made when he came home

from school.

David s uncle said thathe and David shared a

love for fishing. Thishad often given them a

chance to talk, andthey seemed to get

along well. Lately hehadn t been around as

Barbara told thegroup how worriedthe neighbors were.Most have recentlymoved into the area,and many families areeither sin le- arent

She said thather young sonhad asked herthe other day if the bad peoplewere going tocome to theirhouse and takehis toys.much because his brother, David s Dad,

was out of work and stressed out. Theyalways got into pointless arguments, sothe uncle just stayed away.

or dual-income. They feel particularlyvulnerable during the days when no oneis home. They had called a publicmeeting to talk with RJ City officialsabout how to improve safety.

Once again Davidapologized, saying he

had no idea thenumber of people

Mildred said ithad been veryhelpful to hearfrom David and

The discussionthen moved towhat kinds of things might help


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RJ City: Case Study Page 8

The coachsaid thatDavid couldrejoin thebaseball teamas long as hewas current incompleting hispart of theagreement.

David agreed to come to the neighborhoodmeeting Barbara was organizing, if Barbara introduced him by describing thecircle. David s Mom said she would come,too.

Barbara assuredMildred that she

would make surethat people in thecommunity kept aneye on her house.She invited Mildredto visit her and herson at their home.

Mildred said she wouldalso attend so shecould meet herneighbors and say howsatisfied she was thatDavid had takenresponsibility.

Mildred accepted the invitation gratefullyand said that she loved children andperhaps could care for Barbara s sonfrom time to time.

AdversarialCourtSo this is David s support team: his uncle,Offender Support officer Brenda, and hisbaseball coach.

Because Ed denied having anything todo with the burglary, his matter was sentto the Adversarial Court for trial. He wastold however that at any point in the

When cases go toAdversarial Court, thevictim has the right tohire an attorney to offer

Mildred decided thatshe did not want todo that, but she didwant to file a victim


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Pa e 9 RJ Cit : Case Stud

Thomas, the Offender Support officer

assigned to Ed, prepared the pre-sentencereport. It showed Ed s prior burglaryconviction, that he had lived with agirlfriend for the past nine months, that he

had no job, usedmarijuana regularly

and also abusedalcohol.

excelled in, and whenhe quit school it was totake a job as acarpenter. But he hadgotten into an argumentwith his supervisor and

was fired.

Ed had dropped out of school when heturned 16. Frank, his woodshop teacher,told Thomas that it was unfortunate thatEd had not developed his interest inwoodworkin . That was somethin he had

Ed s sentencehad three parts:

First, he wasordered to payrestitution forhalf the value of the stolenproperty thatwas notrecovered.

Second, he was assigned to live for 12 Third, he wasordered to follow

a reintegrationplan that includedsubstance abuse

treatment, angermanagement,

and participationin a victim This is Ed s support team: Offender

Support officer Thomas; Delbert, directorof the closed workshop; and Frank, hisformer teacher.

empathy program. If his behavior wasgood, he could start graduated releaseafter eight months.

months in aclosedworkshopthat

manufacturesfurniture.Closedmeant that hewould beconfinedthere.

How ThingsMildred s fear was significantly reducedafter the restorative circle with David.


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How ThingsWorked Out

for David

David successfully completed hisagreement. His relationship with hisparents improved significantly in partbecause of the course they took andbecause of the time he spent with hisuncle.

He rejoined his baseballteam and played well.

He was the team sleadoff batter during the

second half of theseason.

He entered RJ City Community College andbegan to coach Little League. Sometimeshis team played Betty s husband s team(David s team usually won).

About a year after the circle, David noticedan anniversary clock in the front windowof an antique shop. It was in good working order, and he bought it.

David told Mildredthat he continuedto be sorry abouther husband swatch. He hopedthat she would

accept theanniversary clock

David asked

Barbara toarrange for him tovisit Mildred totalk about howtheir lives were.

as a gift, even though it could not replacethe watch.

Mildred appreciated the gift anddisplayed the clock on her mantle.

How ThingsEventually,Davidbecame arestorativecircles


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During one burglary, he was stunned tosee that the owners had covered their flat

screen TV with one of his mirrors.

This happened shortly after his girlfriendhad told him she was pregnant, and hebegan to think about what was happening in his life.

He got in touchwith Frank foradvice.

Frankchallenged himto deal with hissubstanceabuse problemand promisedthat if he did,Frank would bethere when hewas releasedfrom treatment.

However, when he was released he fell inwith old friends and

began to abusesubstances again.He got his moneyby breaking intohouses (but now,after David stestimony againsthim, he onlyworked alone).

Frank helped himfind a part-time

job with acabinetry maker.The owner was

impressed withEd s work andafter six monthsmade the positionfull time.

For outpatient treatment, Ed joined atwelve step programme. After awhile, hebegan thinking about how he could makeamends to those he had harmed during his burglaries.

So Edchecked

himself into aHouse of

Refuge with

substanceabuseprogramming.

When hefinished

treatment hewas sober.

He met with several victims in restorativecircles, and sent messages of apology toseveral others who were willing to receivethem.

Judge Veronica, the Investigating Magistrate determined that there wasevidence to charge Ed with 6 more counts

He visited Community RestorativeServices, a public agency offering conflictresolution services. They contacted thepeople he had of burglary, but agreed


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february - week four - social justice

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