The three different levels of Restorative Justice
April 26, 2012
In Level Two, for more serious offences or if there are several victims, offenders will meet victims during a conference with a Neighbourhood Resolution Panel, made up of volunteers from the community. They will help talk through the issues and come to a resolution. Level Three, for serious...
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Angel Ruelas pleads guilty to murder of Pacific Grove teen
April 26, 2012
That trial will now proceed only against older brother Jacobo Ruelas Jr., 33, who continues to maintain his innocence. ….Defense attorney Steve Liner said his client told him Tuesday morning he wanted to accept responsibility for his actions and save Travis Phillips, Olinger’s...
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Who are you? Karen Lang
April 23, 2012
This was the reality facing Karen Lang in the September of 1998. Her fifteen year old daughter Jessica had been murdered, stabbed 47 times by a jealous love rival in the kitchen of the family home. Karen talks to Geoff Hutchison about the tragedy that shattered her world and the fourteen year...
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A chance to heal unholy wounds
April 23, 2012
The inquiry announced this week into sexual abuse by clergy and community leaders provides a timely opportunity to heal historical wounds and ensure children are safer. However, unless the inquiry is informed by a deep understanding of the unique culture and doctrines of religious...
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Growing past hate: ‘Restorative justice’ helps heal pain from teens’ vandalism
April 23, 2012
At one level, the incident was a galvanizing experience, bringing together the religious community of Des Moines in a way that I had never witnessed. However, the incident also brought forth shadows normally hidden within many good and well-intentioned people who cried out for a justice that...
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Restorative justice circles: Meeting the social brain needs, developing humanity
April 17, 2012
Our brains need social safety – this is established around students learning in schools and offenders making change. So what do our social brains need most? A SCARF, scarf stands for (From Slide 14, of the NASW power point): Status – how we compare to others,...
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Chickens and chats form basis of new prison life
April 17, 2012
….And that is the nub of Mr Corcoran’s philosophy. As well as protecting the public, he emphasises reducing reoffending by treating the prison as a “small town”, and creating environments where prisoners can learn new skills and a way of responding to the outside world...
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Rare legal settlements demand officers pay too
April 17, 2012
The city of Chicago, like other municipalities, pays judgments and settlements when the conduct of police officers goes wrong. But in rare cases, said attorneys on both sides of the issue, people who were wronged demand money from the officers, too. It is an effort to balance the scales, a way...
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Activists berate Traditional Courts Bill in South Africa
April 13, 2012
However, it has come under heavy criticism from civil society movements and legal experts, who suggest that it might not be constitutional, and that it takes the country back to the era when amakhosi were let loose on traditional communities. ….Sindiso Mnisi, of UCT’s Law, Race...
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New Nationalism and national healing: The case of South Sudan
April 13, 2012
We, the People of South Sudan… Dedicated to a genuine national healing process and the building of trust and confidence in our society through dialogue… Terrible things have been done in South Sudan, by South Sudanese to South Sudanese, during the war. There has been no closure for...
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Restorative justice in higher education: A compilation of formats and best practices
April 10, 2012
….Deciding which RJ tool to use at your University Main Finding: Look at your current processes and procedures and see how a restorative lens can complement your work. Universities employing Restorative tools and techniques, namely conferencing, hearings, circles, dialogues, and boards,...
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Meeting the murderer: Profile of victim-offender dialogue facilitator
April 10, 2012
….Wilson spends months meeting with victims and helping them prepare before engaging in dialogue. He also meets ahead of time with offenders, through which he discovered a pivotal irony of our modern penal system: The disassociation of punishment from the events that cause it and the...
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Parole Camp
April 10, 2012
But on that day in Pollsmoor Prison, when a woman in her forties stood up to tell her imprisoned husband of the difficulties she encountered in raising their children alone, I came to understand that crime takes its toll not only on the victims but also on the families of the...
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Select committee urged to avoid courtroom ‘Oprahfication’
April 9, 2012
….Our experience with restorative justice conferences tells us that the victim’s decision to meet with an offender is driven by one of three things. Firstly, they want to talk about the harm they have suffered, to challenge the offender about their actions, , and have them respond....
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