Restorative justice: Re-storying what happened in Boston

from the entry by Pierre R. Berastain on Huffingtonpost.com:

....We have seen some coverage of restorative practices as an alternative model to responding to conflict, particularly in the criminal justice system and with students who misbehave. In essence, the restorative process invites us to sit in circle, and, as a community affected by crime, determine how to best meet the needs of those involved. Restorative justice rejects one-size-fits-all models and prefers creative processes to conflict resolution.

Apr 30, 2013 Victim, Support, Region: North America and Caribbean, Country:USA

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Law professor says ‘restorative justice’ can heal

from the article by Kieth Upchurch in the Herald Sun:

To illustrate how communication can make a profound difference in people’s lives, Powell showed a video of interviews with a young couple whose home was broken into while they were gone and the two teens who did it.

Through mediation, the boys said they came to realize how deeply they hurt the couple, who suffered anger and fear after the break-in. In turn, the couple said talking face-to-face helped them to understand the boys’ actions, and they eventually forgave them.

Dec 10, 2012 Story, Region: North America and Caribbean, Support, Victim, Country:USA

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Penn State's response to child sexual abuse: What about the victims?

by Lisa Rea

As the story comes out in more detail about the alleged sexual abuse of children by Jerry Sandusky, former assistant football coach at Penn State, the coverage of the story seems to be more about the actions of veteran coach Joe Paterno--his resignation or the university's decision to fire him.

Nov 11, 2011 Victim, Correspondent:Lisa Rea, Support, Case:Violence, Region: North America and Caribbean, Case:Sexual, Country:USA

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New law compensates 'cold case' victims

from Patrick Cronin's article in Seacoast Online:

Rep. Renny Cushing said he saw one shortcoming in the bill signed into law last year establishing for the first time in the state's history a Cold Case Unit assigned to work exclusively on unsolved murder cases.

The Democratic state representative from Hampton said the bill didn't address the needs of surviving victims who may be traumatized by the reopening of an investigation into their loved ones death. That is why he sponsored a bill, which became law three weeks ago, that allows family of cold case homicides to be eligible for victim compensation regardless of the date of the crime.

Nov 12, 2010 Region: North America and Caribbean, Support, Victim, Country:USA, Restitution

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