Victim Stories

Restoring justice

from the vodeo by Marilyn Armour: Jason Shippy (student): I think the biggest surprise that I learned is that victims of crimes actually want to talk about the offense and actually kind of get a little upset that even people who are fairly close to them just pretend like the crime never happened or that the person who was murdered never existed.

Mum takes family crime fight into jails

From the article by Jane Hammond in the West Australia: The mother of a 15-year-old schoolgirl murdered by a teenage love rival has called for compassion for prisoners and their families. In an emotional address to an ecumenical service in St Mary's Cathedral for Anti-Poverty Week, Karen Lang described how the brutal murder of her only daughter devastated the close-knit family.

The meeting: Jo's story - Surviving rape

From the Restorative Justice Council's website: In 2004 I was raped by a boy I knew. For weeks afterwards I was in a daze trying to cope with what had happened not only to me, but also to my family. He didn’t plead guilty to the rape to start with, so I had the extra worry of the trial, but that changed once he was presented with the DNA evidence. The first time I faced him was in Court when he received a life sentence. Almost a year later I had a visit from the probation Victim Liaison Officer and she mentioned the possibility of restorative justice - of a meeting with Darren. From that time on it was always at the back of my mind. I knew as soon as she said it that I wanted to meet him because this was about me taking control of the situation, re-balancing what he had taken away from me that day. The judge had said to Darren in Court ‘you have destroyed this woman’s life’ – but that wasn’t what I wanted, and that wasn’t how I saw it.

A little girl's memories stir questions about good and evil: Terror in a small town

from Wayne Drash's fourpart article on CNN.com: ....I first met Rebecca a year ago, after writing a story about a man who survived his family's massacre. She told me she had a similar tale to share. It began with death threats over the phone, she said, then letters and drive-by shootings. The church and parsonage were bombed -- 10 times to be precise. The terror stretched on for more than six years. Neither local nor state nor federal lawmen were able to stop the assaults. It ended in the parsonage, three days before Easter in 1978, as the family sat down to dinner.

Listening to crime victims: North Carolina restorative justice conference

by Lisa Rea When crime victims speak about the effect violent crime has had on their lives you have to listen. On June 9th I moderated a crime victims roundtable during the 3rd Annual Restorative Justice Conference in Raleigh, North Carolina coordinated this year by Campbell University Law School. The roundtable called "Listening to Crime Victims: Their Journeys Toward Healing" was sponsored by the Journey of Hope: From Violence to Healing. The four victims of violence who told their stories were Bill Pelke, chair, Journey of Hope: From Violence to Healing (Alaska), Stephen Watt, Stephen Watt Ministries (Wyoming) , Bess Klassen-Landis, musician and teacher (Vermont), and Kim Book, executive director, Victims Voices Heard (Delaware). No matter how many crime victims panels I have moderated the stories are always riveting and often what I hear the victims say is new even when I am familiar with the stories. I learn something new as the victims move along in their lives---their own personal journeys.

Finding forgiveness

from SBS Dateline: Dateline has a touching story of friendship between a woman who was shot and critically injured, and the stranger who attempted to kill her. Jackie Millar took years to recover after she was shot in the head. She remains almost blind and permanently brain damaged, unable to even remember bringing up her own sons.

Storytelling: Simple but profound

by Lynette Parker I hesitate to write about storytelling and restorative justice as a lot of people have written about the profound impact of this form of communication. A quick search for the term “storytelling” on Restorative Justice Online returns 29 different entries by people such as Kris Miner and Kay Pranis. Yet, I’ve recently been reminded of how important storytelling can be not only in communication but for an individual processing through pain and loss. I remember talking with a woman who had lost her son in an automobile accident that involved drunk driving. She expressed a series of emotions ranging from grief to anger to denial. In telling me about the impact of her son’s death, she also described her anger and frustration with the criminal justice system in that her family was denied an opportunity to tell their story. She summed up all this in saying that they deserved the right to have the conference with the young man who had been driving that day. They deserved to be able to tell him how profoundly that one night had changed their lives.

The promise of restorative justice: New approaches for criminal justice and beyond

reviewed by Martin Wright It is becoming increasingly clear that the principles of restorative justice can be used, as the editors say, outside the formal criminal justice system, and this book bears witness to that. Half is about criminal justice, and half about other applications in schools and elsewhere. The contributors reflect the book’s origins among a group at Fresno Pacific University in California, but other chapters come from Bulgaria, Canada, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom.

Against my will

by Radha Stern Radha Stern's son Christopher was murdered in 1996. This is her story of how meeting with prisoners, and eventually with the man who killed her son, has helped her find relief and comfort. Getting into a prison is intimidating. Accompanied by my prison escort, I went to the first gate, presented my ID to a guard who carried a gun. I signed in, was approved and went to the next gate to meet another armed guard and pass through a metal detector. After that gate, I went to another entrance with a guard and gun, signed in, was checked in and approved by the computer, was scanned with a hand-held metal detector, and stamped under the left wrist with the daily stamp. Then I went into a Sally port a large cell – where a huge door slams shut with a resounding “clank.” I was held there until the opposite door opened with another loud “clank,” and I entered another Sally port, which then unlocked and allowed me access into a large open quad.

A lesson in manners

from the editorial in Aldergrove Star: The following is a letter written by a few teenagers, who recently used Facebook to hurt someone, intentionally. Having the letter printed in the local paper, The Agassiz Harrison Observer, is one way they are working on their restitution, through Chilliwack's Restorative Justice Program. We have chosen to run the letter in its entirety. By law, the teens cannot be named.

Restorative Justice on Death Row: healing for crime victims?

by Lisa Rea A death row inmate in Florida recently died in prison before the state could execute him. I became aware of Robert's case because I met his pen pal, Ines, a woman from Switzerland who had be-friended him through a pen pal organization, Lifespark, based in that country. After being interviewed by Ines for her organization's newsletter on the subject of forgiveness and restorative justice I learned more about the man she wrote in a Florida prison who had served some 20 years on death row. The story came to an end on December 3rd, 2010 when Robert unexpectedly died of cancer. But what I learned from my encounter with Ines was the real need to open doors more fully for all victims of violent crime wherever their offenders live and wherever their victims live (if they are still alive). I learned through Ines that her pen pal, once a very violent offender, was ready to attempt to make things right, as much as possible, with the victims or victim's family members that he had injured. The rap sheet on this man was very violent and longer than I'd ever seen. I often learn things about restorative justice and how to apply it seemingly coincidentally. When cases draw me, or more likely the people behind the cases, I have a hard time saying no.

Justice in Action: Victim meets husband's attacher

In this BBC Radio four interview, a woman whose husband was stabbed in an unprovoked attack describes her reasons for meeting with the attacker and her emotions both before and after the meeting. The offender, who had been in trouble previously, describes the difference between receiving a sentence and participating in a restorative process.

Restorative justice in victim services

In this six minute YouTube video, Wendy Cohen describes her decision to meet with the mother and brother of the young man that murdered her daughter in 2003. Cohen describes wanting the other mother to see who her son killed and how important she was to everyone. In describing the meeting, Cohen recounts the scepticism of both sides as the meeting began. She goes on to describe the asking of questions and sharing of tears. In describing restorative justice and its impact in her life, Cohen says the system needs to change to allow the process at all levels of offending.

Jodi Cadman finds peace after forgiving man who murdered her brother

From the article by Cheryl Chan in The Province: Jodi Cadman still recalls hanging up the phone in shock. She had just been told that the man who stabbed her 16-year-old brother to death almost two decades previously wanted to get in touch. "You literally get a phone call out of the blue saying, 'Would you like to receive a letter from the person who murdered your family member?'" Jodi says. "I was pretty shocked."

Blackburn father wants to meet his son's killer

from the article by Sam Chadderton in This Is Lancashire: The father of a man who died from a single punch in Blackburn town centre wants to meet his son’s killer. William Upton, 17, is currently serving half of a three-and-a-half year custodial sentence after he was convicted of the manslaughter of 24-year-old Adam Rogers, earlier this year. Now Adam’s dignified dad Dave Rogers has expressed a wish to speak face-to-face with the Rishton teenager as part of a ‘restorative justice’ initiative.

Help for the victims of crime -- and the offenders

From the 10 July article in The Vancouver Sun by Peter McKnight: In 2006, the newly elected Conservative government announced, with much pomp and ceremony, the appointment of the first federal Ombudsman for Victims of Crime. Four years later, Steve Sullivan's role came to an unceremonious end. Upon leaving office earlier this year, Sullivan condemned the Conservatives for failing to address victims' needs. "The tough-on-crime agenda will not meet the needs of victims of crime," he told Canwest News Service, while emphasizing that imposing stiffer sentences on offenders doesn't amount to serving victims. Instead, Sullivan argued that victims desire greater participation in the justice system: "If they are engaged in the process, if they understand why decisions are made and are given a voice, they are more satisfied with the result, regardless of the sentence given."

A justice system that focuses on the victim, as well as the offender

From the article by Harvey Voogd in the Edmonton Journal: When a crime occurs, it does not affect just one person, but also impacts their family members and the entire community. This was personally made clear to my family in the fall of 2008 when our pickup was stolen in the middle of the night. Though it was parked in front of our home in Edmonton and under a street light, neither we nor our neighbours heard anything. The truck was recovered near Alberta Beach, but was written off due to a combination of damage sustained and the age of the vehicle. We received $3,700 for the loss, but our new second-hand truck cost $11,000 -- a financial hit that we had not anticipated.

Asking Questions and Speaking the Truth

In 2006, Kathy Key's husband was killed on his way home from work when his motorcycle was hit by a car. The driver was arrested for driving drunk. Through a restorative justice programme, Kathy met the man responsible for her husbands death. In this two minute interview with BBC, Kathy explains her reasons for participating in the meeting and what she felt the offender got out of the meeting.

Exonerated man, accuser forge rare bond

from Stephanie Chen's story on CNN.com: Cage, then 26, was shocked when the police arrested him. "I'm innocent," he insisted. That didn't matter. Two years later in 1996, Zilinger's testimony would convict Cage, sending him to prison for 40 years. Zilinger was absolutely sure. Even his voice sounded like her attacker's, she said. After four appeals and 14 years in prison, Cage won his freedom. A sample of the assailant's saliva, retrieved from the victim's body in 1994, was the proof he needed. A DNA test, which was not available at the time of the trial, was performed on the saliva and excluded him. Cage was exonerated in May 2008.

Real People, Real Stories: Victims Face Fear and Find Healing in Prison

The Sycamore Tree Project® (STP) brings indirect victims and offenders together for a series of in-prison meetings to discuss crime and its impact. Recently, the Australian Broadcasting Company radio programme "Street Stories" followed two victims as they participated in a STP course in Acacia Prison. Through the interview, the victims tell their stories of victimization and describe the myriad of emotions and thoughts they experienced in the programme.