Is Georgia Ready to Execute an Innocent Man?
September 20, 2011
Troy Davis’s case is one where doubts remain regarding his guilt. Seven out of nine witnesses have recanted their stories fingering Davis as the killer. Some of those witnesses apparently testified against Davis due to harassment by the prosecution or law enforcement. There is no DNA...
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RIP: Liz Elliott
September 10, 2011
Yet, Liz Elliott’s work extended well beyond the walls of the University, into the lives of many many individuals, nationally and internationally; in particular, into the lives of our most vulnerable citizens in our prison system. She will be sorely missed; yet, her legacy for the cause...
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Restorative justice and prisoner reintegration
September 5, 2011
Mediators contacted the victim to inform her of the request and let her know about the process – as well as to give her a choice about whether to participate. Before the mediation the victim felt she had rebuilt her life. She had married and was pregnant. Her family had had no...
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Circulos de Paz and the promise of peace: Restorative justice meets intimate violence
September 5, 2011
The inclusion of the extended family network in the treatment helps those in the circle understand how violence is transmitted across generations and serves to hold applicants accountable to those whom they respect. It also keeps the treatment flexible and culturally sensitive, as all circle...
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Restorative practices in Latin America
September 5, 2011
As executive director of the Strachan Foundation, a small family foundation established to promote social investment in Latin America through grants of up to $20,000 awarded to NGOs (nongovernmental organizations) in six countries, Tello can offer restorative practices training to...
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Restorative justice in the community
September 5, 2011
Luckily, the juvenile court judge who heard Michael’s case knew about restorative justice and LAVORP. So he referred Michael’s case to LAVORP. A LAVORP mediator met first with the store owner, a man named Mr. Good (yep, that’s his real name – a very common Lancaster...
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An apology is not good enough and neither is a conviction
September 5, 2011
Another way to teach them a lesson, at least those who will learn, is to have them first confront the harm their night of fun caused. First responders, business people, people who took part in the clean up, perhaps some of the victims, could teach them real lessons a judge can only lecture...
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Victim offender dialogue
September 5, 2011
Most survivors want the offender to understand not only what he did to the victim, but the persistent after-effects of what he did. When a loved one has been murdered, or when innocence has been shattered by sexual assault or other violation, nothing can be done to “pay back†the...
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Healing and “Collateral Damage”: Prison is above all about loss
September 5, 2011
….Part of what we discussed towards the end of the circle was how family members might constructively and simply support each other and the incarcerated young man through this ordeal. A decision was made that two people from the circle would arrange to visit him once a month at minimum....
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Where are the personal apologies for the Freedom Riders?
September 5, 2011
Wilson does not say why he waited almost 50 years, but when he finally had the courage to say he was sorry, he was able to do so face to face because the man he needed to apologize to is a Congressman, with a public address in Washington, D.C. How many of the sheriffs’ deputies...
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Alberta solicitor general to fight for restorative justice
September 5, 2011
“How we supervise prisoners is defined by union contract and court decisions and and staffing models,” he said. Oberle said he supports the concept of restorative justice which brings victims and criminals face-to-face with the goal of making amends. “It has real value to the...
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Murderers turned peacemakers
September 1, 2011
As soon as I read the letter, I was hooked, but also knew that I couldn’t do it alone. Still standing at the mailbox, I called my friend and colleague, Doug Noll, the only person I would consider working with on a project like this. Doug is a superb trainer, mediator, and restorative...
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Summer reading
August 28, 2011
In the forward to The Jesus Factor in Justice & Peacemaking by C. Norman Kraus (Cascadia, 2011), I said this: â€If you are a Christian interested in peace, if you are a Christian justice or peace practitioner, if you are Buddhist or Hindu or Jewish and interested in...
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To forgive isn’t divine, it’s deeply human
August 28, 2011
The granting of forgiveness, especially in circumstances like this, is such a powerful and moving thing – such an essentially human thing – it’s small wonder that virtually all religions have annexed it, as they have love, spirituality and the notion of truth itself, as a...
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More tolerance in new Chicago Public Schools code of conduct
August 28, 2011
“The change is mostly in the language,” says Charles Bergman with Community Organizing and Family Issues, which has been advocating against the district’s zero tolerance policies for years. “It’s emphasizing more strongly that out-of-school suspensions is meant to...
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