Priest's slaying in Birmingham to be remembered in church service

from the article by Greg Garrison in the Birmingham News:

The 1921 slaying of a Catholic priest in Birming­ham by a Methodist min­­ister will be the subject of repentance during a 6:30 p.m. Ash Wednesday service at Highlands United Meth­odist Church, 1045 20th Street South, led by United Methodist Bishop William Willimon.

"It's going to be a power­ful and a historic event," said Jim Pinto, director of the Father James E. Coyle Memorial Project. "We're not going to live in the past, but we want to more fully understand the past."

Feb 22, 2012    Region: North America and Caribbean , National Reconciliation , Country:USA , Case:Hate Crime

Restorative Justice: Differences between the US and UK

from Scott Walsh's entry on From the Desk of Mary Ellen Johnson:

First: Politics

This is one more area where the UK and the US are miles apart. In the United States prosecutors often go into politics as a career so being strong on crime and talking the rhetoric helps in their campaigns. To have any chance of moving forward all political parties need to be targeted at the same time, there is little point in persuading one politician or political party to be more understanding as this will just leave the door open for his or her opposition to jump in with the policy they are stronger on crime and sentencing. 

They also need to be tackled at the right time; your political system seems to run on a four year cycle. There is very little point in lobbying any politicians to be more compassionate towards offenders in the final 2 years of any administration as they will not want to seem weak on the crime ticket and also be already campaigning for the next elections. The day after any vote is the day to start.

Feb 21, 2012    Country:England&Wales , Region: Europe , Region: North America and Caribbean , Politics , Country:USA

Victims' Pastoral Care: The Search for Spiritual Healing from the Impacts of Crime.

On 26 April, the Church Council on Justice and Corrections will host a one-day workshop on pastoral care for crime victims. 

Feb 21, 2012    Event

UC explores restorative justice in improving campus climate

from Harry Mok's article in UC Newsroom:

A residence hall fire alarm is pulled as a drunken prank in the middle of the night. A fellow resident, who happens to be gay, witnesses it and confronts the culprit as the building is evacuated. In the exchange of words, the prankster utters a pejorative term for a homosexual man in a profanity-laced tirade.

Fortunately, the situation was just part of a role-playing exercise. Twenty-three student affairs staff members, from all 10 University of California campuses, took part in training for restorative justice, a conflict resolution process that UC is considering for use when dealing with incidents of intolerance or hate, particularly for conduct that, while offensive, may not violate any laws or policies.

Feb 20, 2012    Policy , School , Region: North America and Caribbean , Country:USA

Restorative justice provides new path for prisoners

from the article by Jesse Bishop in the Misourian:

....This is no television prison. There is no guard or glass wall. There are no handcuffs 

or restraints, just a couple of cameras and a conversation. A conversation about where they came from, why they’re here, but most importantly a conversation about where they’re going. It’s a path with few options.

“On the other side of that door, it’s either hell or redemption,” Baumgardner says. “You choose.”

“That door” leads to the bowels of Jefferson City Correctional Center, a maximum security prison. Starr, Baumgardner and King have all chosen the latter path. Hell is what got them here. Restorative Justice offers them a chance to change that.

Feb 17, 2012    Region: North America and Caribbean , Other , Victim , Prison , Country:USA , Restitution