Why can't I tell my brutal attacker that I forgive?

from the article in the Nottingham Post:

....Mr Ali, who lives in the Arboretum area of Nottingham, was left unconscious on the floor of St Peter's Gate after he was knocked out with one punch on at around 4.45pm on July 24, 2008.

The 48-year-old was then stamped on and kicked in his head as shoppers and passersby looked on. When he arrived at hospital, fluid from his brain was leaking out of his nose.

Jackson, then 27 and of Eddleston Drive, Clifton, was jailed for a minimum of five years after pleading guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent, part way through a retrial at Nottingham Crown Court in July 2009.

Feb 24, 2012 Dialogue, Country:England&Wales, Victim, Offender, Region: Europe, Prison, Forgiveness

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Restorative justice provides new path for prisoners

from the article by Jesse Bishop in the Misourian:

....This is no television prison. There is no guard or glass wall. There are no handcuffs or restraints, just a couple of cameras and a conversation. A conversation about where they came from, why they’re here, but most importantly a conversation about where they’re going. It’s a path with few options.

“On the other side of that door, it’s either hell or redemption,” Baumgardner says. “You choose.”

“That door” leads to the bowels of Jefferson City Correctional Center, a maximum security prison. Starr, Baumgardner and King have all chosen the latter path. Hell is what got them here. Restorative Justice offers them a chance to change that.

Feb 17, 2012 Region: North America and Caribbean, Other, Victim, Prison, Country:USA, Restitution

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New York Times article shows why restorative justice is needed

from the entry by Lorenn Walker on Restorative Justice & Other Public Health Approaches for Healing:

The February 5, 2012 New York Times article by Kovaleski et al, For Killers’ Families, Struggles With Shame, Silence and Fear shows why we need restorative justice.

The article describes how family members are also harmed by their loved one’s criminal behavior. It shows the need for restorative interventions that can help many families deal with the harm they suffer.

Feb 16, 2012 Victim, Practice, Region: North America and Caribbean, Country:USA

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Restorative justice: The new way forward

from Lisa Rea's article in Baylor University's Christian Refelction issue on Prison:

.... Some might argue that our prison system was never meant to positively affect victims and communities. I will not analyze the original purpose of prisons in society, but we know that prisons have become something far different than what they were intended to be. Most societies have incarcerated individuals who were deemed to be a violent threat to others, but the United States prison system today has grown immensely beyond this rationale. As a result, the American state and federal prison population has expanded dramatically. 

Feb 07, 2012 Correspondent:Lisa Rea, Practice, Victim, Policy, Politics

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My experience with the Sycamore Tree Project(sm)

from the article by a British prison chaplain:

I’ve been facilitating the Sycamore Tree courses in my prison now for about eighteen months. Sycamore Tree is the Restorative Justice programme run by Prison Fellowship (http://www.pfi.org/). It is a six week course which runs one afternoon a week.

Over such time you would not expect very much to happen. How can you change a person’s outlook on their life in six short afternoons?

Feb 06, 2012 Country:England&Wales, Region: Europe, Other, Victim, Prison

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