Restorative Justice-- a new way to look at crime

Restorative Justice is a new movement that focuses not on punishing the guilty but on repairing the harm caused by crime. Restorative programs are being developed around the world that work with inmates, victims and the community to explore ways to repair the harm, heal victims, restore the dignity of offenders, rebuild broken relationships and strengthen the community.

Over the years we’ve heard about restorative justice, and we’ve also heard about alternative ways that indigenous communities in southern Mexico have responded to crime. In one incident, one man killed another in his own community. The community’s elders had him arrested, and he was given a choice: he could be turned over to the District Attorney, tried, and probably sent to prison for a long time, leaving two families without husbands and fathers instead of one; or he could commit to providing for the needs of the dead man’s family as well as his own, for the rest of his life. He chose the second option, knowing that the whole community would watch him to make sure that he fulfilled his commitment!

We had heard about all this but hadn’t paid much attention until one day in July 2007, during a Servants’ Council meeting. Gabriela Pacheco, our Coordinator, was in mourning; her brother had been shot to death in Mexico City when he tried to resist a mugger. All of the Servants gave their condolences and offered support, but one of them, Guillermo, went further: Ever since I heard what happened to your brother, he said, I have been so ashamed! Because I have done that to people; I have killed people while mugging them. And I can’t stand to think that I could have done that to your brother!

Gabriela responded: Until now I didn’t know what crime brought you here, and now that I know, I still want to be your friend. Furthermore, let me say to all of you that what happened won’t make me stop coming to visit you. On the contrary, this makes me more committed than ever to continuing with our program; we must work to stop the violence!

This was an unplanned restorative moment! An offender took responsibility for the harm he caused and thereby regained some dignity, and a victim was healed a little in the process. After this special moment, we began to contact organizations and individuals in Mexico and the U.S. who were promoting this concept. In September 2008 we were invited to take an inside look at the Resolve to Stop the Violence Project (RSVP), a program for violent offenders run by the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department. We watched as a victim told her story to a room full of violent offenders at the county jail, who then gave feedback on how her story had touched them. Inmates then broke into groups to process what they had heard, and we were impressed to see them relate that story to the violent acts they had committed and help each other identify key moments when they could have chosen not to use violence. We heard that over the ten years that RSVP has existed, program participants have been much less likely than non-participants to be incarcerated again for a violent crime.

We also discovered that, coincidently, the state of Oaxaca is on the forefront of the Restorative Justice Movement in Mexico! Changes are being implemented in the trial process in Oaxaca to allow pretrial diversion to mediation and restorative solutions to crime. We met Lorena Perez, a psychologist, head of the new Restorative Justice Department in the office of the state Attorney General, and asked her to lead workshops in Tehuantepec.

On February 27, 2009, Lorena led a half-day workshop in the prison, with the help of a woman who was a crime victim. The woman told her story in detail and the inmates participating were moved, some to tears! Lorena also led a Peace Circle, where participants took turns sharing a personal experience related to the word “mother”. Participants were asked not to respond to each other’s reflection but simply to listen with respect. One participant couldn’t speak; he just cried! (The Peace Circle is a good technique for bringing offenders and victims together to talk about a crime.) At the end of the workshop, Guillermo said: This is true rehabilitation! This is what they should be doing with us while we’re in prison!

The following day, Lorena and her assistant gave a full-day workshop for people involved in prison ministry from around the state of Oaxaca. Several participants expressed interest in continuing to explore Restorative Justice in their communities and in the prisons where they served.

On August 22, 2009, we led a small workshop on Restorative Justice at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, Pleasant Hill, California. We heard that the movement was born out of national reconciliation processes after civil wars in several countries, and alternative indigenous responses to crime in several others. We heard that the Juvenile Justice system in New Zealand is now based on Restorative Justice, and that communities across the U.S. are implementing Restorative processes.

The Oaxaca Prison Ministry will continue to promote Restorative Justice in the Tehuantepec Regional Prison. We invite you to support this work and to help spread the word about Restorative Justice. The name “Tequio” refers to the volunteer labor that is expected of every member of an indigenous community in Oaxaca. We are all members of a global community, and are called to give our time and energy to bringing peace to that community.