Well at that time I never really knew how either one worked, but I knew court was probably the worst choice in the end. Eventually I chose the Restorative Justice. The officer didn’t really know what it was either so I never really understood what I was going up against.
For those who don’t know how Restorative Justice works: The offender has a meeting with the victim, maybe his/or her family members and other people related to both. You discuss your feelings about the event that has led you here and to come to a reasonable agreement for the criminal to pay for his actions.
As I went through with the program, having a meeting with the store owner was probably the hardest thing to do. (I forgot I was meeting up with the store owner . . . I thought the guy was just another volunteer.)
The happiest moment during the meeting was when I gave the store owner this drawing, as sort of a “peace treaty.†After all the emotional anger, when I gave him that, the atmosphere in the room changed dramatically to a lighter note. It also brought more ideas to the table as to the agreement of how I was going to pay back for my crimes.
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