REPAIRING HARM
The victim/offender dialogues are the heart of the course
and the place where real transformation can happen. These dia-
logues are a powerful piece of any restorative justice program,
not only for providing a forum for victims to describe the effect
that crime has had on their lives, but also for engaging offenders
in a transformative process, in which feelings of responsibility and
compassion become conduits for changing behavior. “Not too
long ago, if you asked me if I had any victims in my case, I would
have told you no…”
Borrowing from another of Zehr’s “offender’s needs,” “encour-
agement and support for integration into the community,” the
longer program at Concord includes a focus on re-entering com-
munity and reigniting family bonds that may have been damaged
through long histories of incarceration. Returning citizens can
experience real hardship, not only in finding employment and
housing, but in re-uniting with friends and family after so many
years behind bars. One of the incarcerated men that I co-facilitate
with at the minimum facility now has the chance to return home
after serving nearly thirty years. When I asked about his family,
he replied that two of his sons are incarcerated, and “One of them
is on death row in Georgia.”
Rates of re-incarceration remain high both nationally and
locally. Successful re-entry is imperative not only with respect
to recidivism, but also in its impact on the well-being of the com-
munity. Because of the high correlation between poverty, racial
disparity and crime, low-income neighborhoods are particu-
larly vulnerable to criminal activity. These same neighborhoods
not only produce the highest number of people incarcerated
in Massachusetts but also receive most of the state’s return-
ing prisoners. As formerly incarcerated people re-enter their
communities, the lack of jobs and housing, as well as continued
exposure to criminal networks, increase the odds that they will
re-offend, perpetuating the cycle of poverty, racial disparity,
inequity, violence and the stigmatization of communities. The
re-entry dialogues help the men identify family support systems
as well as potential conflicts that could destabilize their social
environment and increase the odds of re-offense. Participants
and facilitators explore solutions to these conflicts and develop
strategies for engagement, while thinking about alternative
plans if re-integration into families and past social structures
doesn’t work out.
Another aim of the longer course is to help the participants
“find meaning through helping others,” in the words of one
incarcerated man serving a life sentence. Recent research suggests that feeling valuable through caring for others encourages
“good” behavior, especially if ex-offenders can use their past
experience to promote change and transformation in others.
Our participants are encouraged to reach out to other prisoners,
especially younger men, to discourage them from further involvement in “the life,” and to help them find legal outlets for success.
The “long termers” or “lifers” are deeply respected by young men
in the community and in the prisons, who emulate them and seek
respect through following in their footsteps. These men, known
as “impact players” by law enforcement, can positively influence
younger men entering their facilities. However, these “impact
players” are taking a personal risk that the social structures they
are part of will perceive this change as having “gone soft,” depriv-
ing them of the respect that they worked so hard to gain. The
workshops encourage such men to make this sacrifice by helping
others leave the path they themselves once chose.
Restorative justice is not only about repairing harm to individuals; it is also about restoring community. I have often heard
the men speak of the “ripple effects” of crime, where the consequences of one crime lead to many others, through acts of
retribution as well as broader consequences, such as drug addiction, children who lose their parents to incarceration, and further
violence promoted from the emulation of criminality. I’d believe
restorative justice can have a similar ripple effect in the community, where growth of accountability and compassion lead to more
connection, open dialogues, healthy re-entry, a reduction of violence, and real healing for our communities.
During the victim dialogues, members of the Department of
Corrections (DOC) are sometimes invited to sit in circle and share
some of their own stories. One DOC employee said of this experience, "I learn as much from the inmates as they learn from me
or you or anyone. It’s good for people like me [staff] to see the
inmates in groups like yours because there is no barrier there…
everyone is just being themselves and they don’t have to prove
anything…it’s a great tool for me to be able to sit in on groups like
yours…it gives me a different perspective and a better understanding of their wants/needs. I think you have one of the best
programs going and I will do anything I can to keep it going and
support you and your team…."
These circles have been one of the most human experiences
of my life. Sometimes people have questioned how I can “sit
around with killers.” My answer is that I sit in circle with many
men, who have been the most gracious, open and sincere people I’ve had the privilege to know. On the last day, the men give
thank you cards to all the facilitators. After building friendships
and trust, that day is often quite painful. Facilitators and participants are not likely to see each other again except in passing.
The cards are filled with kind words and gratitude. “Thank you so
much for helping me finally be verbal with my hardships in life…
you helped me be able to forgive others and myself and you also
helped me to open my heart and mind to change…and you motivate me to be a better person in life.” But what moved me most
was that every man signed his name followed by his prison identification number.
“To me restorative justice is an enlightened approach to dealing
with the aftermath of crime and wrongdoing. It emphasizes that
when a crime has been committed the stakeholders must extend
beyond the state and the accused to include the victim and the
community at large. This is the only way a true thorough healing
process can take place. They say it takes a village to raise a child;
in that same vein, when trying to right wrongs, it takes a village
to restore justice.” (Incarcerated man MCI Concord, 26 years old,
serving 15 to life)
