Apologies, their use and meaning: A course module
November 21, 2011
….In essence, a good apology has several characteristics: The individual or organization making the apology must recognize that a wrong was committed. The remorse must be sincere, not simply “regret†at being caught. There is a big difference between remorse and regret. The...
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Standing Committee
November 20, 2011
….Two weeks ago I was with a group that spent most of the evening analyzing the problems of our justice system. We were wallowing in our pain, not always being “politically correct†as one member put it, but allowing each other to speak freely. At the end of the evening, I...
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Restorative practices in Hungary: An ex-prisoner is reintegrated into the community
November 20, 2011
As a first effort, the prison governor suggested we work with János, a prisoner who had demonstrated dramatic improvement and who, unlike most long-term prisoners, had maintained contact with family through regular letters and visits. The governor and department manager agreed the prisoner...
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Announcement from Restorative Justice International
November 20, 2011
Correction: To join this effort, go to linkedin.com and join RJI. You can then indicate your interest online or by emailing...
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Restorative practice: How young can we go?
November 20, 2011
The little boys in question at 5 and 6 years, were very immature, and seemed to have little understanding of how their actions had affected those involved; therefore it was decided that to exclude them would no way address their lack of understanding. It was decided that to hold a restorative...
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Restorative justice may not work for all young offenders
November 16, 2011
….Research in the last decade in Australia, the USA and the UK has also shown that young offenders represent a group at high-risk of unidentified oral language impairments. In other words, they have problems expressing themselves verbally by accessing appropriate vocabulary, formulating...
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Crime victims turning to restorative justice
November 16, 2011
But after first rejecting the possibility of meeting her attacker face-to-face as part of a restorative justice scheme, she later decided to seek resolution through this increasingly popular technique. “It changed the power balance,” she said. “I’m not scared of him...
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Penn State’s response to child sexual abuse: What about the victims?
November 10, 2011
That’s not surprising given his long winning record as a coach and Penn State’s reputation in the college football world. However, as a restorative justice expert and a practitioner who works with victims of violent crime, my concern turns to the victims. As this New York...
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Givin’ them kids all the power. What’s next? No discipline, no obedience, no…fist fights.
November 8, 2011
….When getting to LHS Freshman year, not really knowing what to expect, I stayed around what I knew the best, which was RJ because I did my trainings over the summer and I sat in quite a few circles from the community program. Within the first two weeks of school, I was already...
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Brazil creates truth commission to probe rights abuses
November 8, 2011
The commission will examine abuses from 1946 to 1988, but a miitary-era amnesty means there will be no trials. The amnesty law, passed in 1979 and upheld last year by the Supreme Court, means neither military officials accused of torture nor left-wing guerrillas accused of violence can face...
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Conventional and innovative justice responses to sexual violence
November 8, 2011
….Changing the way in which rape cases are handled in the legal system has proved to be even more challenging today than it was three decades ago. Justice remedies for the vast majority of victims of sexual violence are inadequate. In hindsight, we can see that incremental legal reform...
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Review: Walking the talk: Developing ethics frameworks for the practice of restorative justice
November 8, 2011
The publication consists of five sections starting with an introduction to outline the purpose of the document and the approach to be taken. Sharpe says that Walking the talk is for “anyone concerned about the sound application of restorative justice philosophy – in whatever form...
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Restorative justice: Transforming corrections
November 8, 2011
With a Restorative Justice correctional long term direction, the focus is appropriately placed on healing the victim, making whole the community and restoring the offender to a moral place he was or should have been. This model gives offenders a chance to reclaim their lives, to give back and...
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Missouri prisons grow 50 tons of food for pantries
November 1, 2011
Produce grown includes tomatoes, bell peppers, lettuce, broccoli, zucchini, yellow squash, butternut squash, cucumbers, carrots, green beans, cantaloupe, watermelon, okra, onions, jalapeno peppers, potatoes and pumpkins, according to the Department of Corrections. ….Prisoners in the...
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