Restorative Justice

“Justice” is a complicated word.  Everyone has a different sense of what it means.  

For the victim, justice is often unobtainable. What they really want is for their life to be returned to the way it was before the crime happened. No one can give them this.

For the offender, justice often revolves around sentencing and whether or not the length of time is considered fair. This is incredibly subjective.

For the system, justice is often a pre-determined formula comprised of complicated laws and subjective considerations. Some cases are grievous enough to demand this type of justice, but even in the most extreme cases, the participants walk away with more questions than answers.

This is where Restorative Justice comes in. Restorative Justice (RJ) is a process designed to give those who have been harmed the opportunity to express the impact of this harm to the person who caused the harm. It provides space for the person who caused the harm to receive this message and begin honestly examining their behavior. The dialogue allows for restoration to be discussed in terms of what can the person who caused the harm do to help the person who was harmed find healing. This process is driven by the victim, allowing them to experience a unique level of involvement following their victimization.

Verna and Valerie are participating in on-going Restorative Justice Circle Keeping Trainings with experts from Impact Justice based in Oakland, CA. Alongside others from Raphah Institute, Unheard Voices Outreach, and individuals in the community, they are participating in a pilot diversion program supported by the city of Nashville and elected officials such as Mayor David Briley, District Attorney Glenn Funk, and Judge Sheila Calloway. Currently, the city will be offering this only to cases that meet strict criteria for violence, number of times someone has offended, and age of the offender.

However, their skills are not limited to the cases provided by the system. Circle Keeping can be applied to any situation including Community Building, Addressing Harm, Improving Conversations, etc.