%
>> Our current justice system
% is totally offender driven.
% A kind of a trail them,
% nail them, jail them approach.
% Next case.
% So restorative justice
% is really based on the notion
% that those who are
% most affected by crime,
% victims and their families,
% communities, and then
% the offender and their families,
% they should have the
% opportunity, whenever possible,
% to come together to talk about
% the real impact of crime
% on their lives, and to develop
% a plan to repair the harm,
% to hold the offender
% accountable,
% but in a way that helps victims.
% >> Deep within the walls of this
% maximum-security prison
% a transformation is beginning.
% Inmates begin a journey that
% will bring them face to face
% with the consequences
% of their crimes.
% Joined by criminal justice
% professionals and victims,
% these offenders explore the
% wide reaching and long-term
% ripple effects of crime.
% As a former Criminal Court Judge
% and Wisconsin Supreme Court
% Justice, Janine Geske
% was well aware of the traumatic
% effects of crime on victims.
% As a Distinguished Professor
% of Law at Marquette University,
% Geske directs the University's
% Restorative Justice Initiative.
% The program includes both
% victim offender conferencing and
% group sessions like these
% at the Green Bay
% Correctional Institution.
% >> Well, there are different
% processes for restorative
% justice.
% Some are face-to-face meetings
% between a victim and offender,
% some of them are circles
% that we are doing here using
% surrogate victims, that is
% victims of other crimes.
% Some of them involve
% family conferencing
% and community conferencing.
% The circle is a process that's
% been used by Native Americans
% and many indigenous peoples
% for a long time.
% The idea is that
% we are all equal.
% We're all part
% of the same community.
% We're all family.
% And that everybody
% has an equal voice.
% And when people have a chance,
% not only to speak,
% but to truly listen
% to other people,
% others become human.
% And there's a new understanding
% of the harm
% and what needs to be done.
% >> Restorative justice gave me
% a chance to see myself,
% not just as a convicted felon
% anymore, but also as a human.
% You know, that still has
% some, maybe, some type
% of redeemable value to me.
% >> After the assault, he asked
% me to turn my head to the side
% on the ground, and he
% held the gun at my temple.
% And he said, "What am I gonna
% do with you now?
% When I brought you here,
% I intended to leave you here
% dead."
% >> Among the victims that
% come to share their personal
% and tragic stories are Kim,
% a survivor of sexual assault,
% and Mayda, whose son Brian
% was murdered by a drunk driver.
% >> Brian flew off his bike
% his head hit the windshield
% on the driver's side
% and broke his neck instantly,
% killing him instantly.
% >> It put a face on the victims
% and the things that happened
% that you really don't
% want to think about.
% You know you really don't
% want to think about
% the pain that you caused.
% >> The reason I come
% to tell you this is because
% I want to hit you here.
% >> In October of 1982,
% Lynn BeBeau's husband,
% an Eau Claire, Wisconsin,
% Police Officer, was gunned down
% in the line of duty.
% >> When victims are
% able to tell offenders,
% whether it be their offenders
% or other offenders, it is very--
% It's very helpful to them
% to sort of talk
% through the story and make sure
% that offenders understand
% their crime just doesn't have
% a momentary effect, but it has
% a long ranging effect,
% years, and years, and years,
% and sometimes a lifetime
% that's deeply effected by crime.
% >> I see victims being able to
% take a terrible experience
% and see some positive things
% come out of that experience
% by what they give to the group
% when they're in a restorative
% justice program.
% >> What--
% The story that hit a nerve on me
% was Lynn's story.
% When she talked about
% her husband going to work
% and being killed.
% Because my situation,
% I didn't kill someone's husband,
% I killed somebody's child.
% And I thought, "Man you know,
% that's, you know,
% I changed somebody's life."
% You know, not just my own
% but you know,
% my victim's family, my family.
% >> It puts a face on all
% the people that I stuck a gun
% in their face and just didn't
% care about who they were,
% because I never met them before.
% And all I wanted
% was something from them.
% >> So you know what, guys?
% I actually became
% a stark raving crazy lunatic.
% I was nuts.
% My rage consumed me.
% I would lash out at anybody,
% including my own children.
% Like they deserved any anger.
% I mean, that's how anger
% and hatred-filled I was.
% >> For Lynn, the healing process
% began when she was finally
% able to forgive the man
% that murdered her husband.
% >> I said the Lord's prayer
% with her.
% And when I got to that part
% that said, "Forgive those
% who trespass against you,"
% and I had said that prayer
% thousands of times.
% But that night it was different.
% And I remembered thinking,
% surely God,
% you cannot mean this.
% You cannot meanthis.
% How--
% How can I ever forgive that?
% >> These women come in here
% talk about how they forgive
% the people that victimized them.
% That changed and
% altered their life dramatically.
% That's powerful,
% because I know this.
% They could've held on to
% that anger and that bitterness
% all their life.
% But they chose not to.
% I never understood
% how my actions impacted people's
% lives until restorative justice.
% How communities was changed,
% how lives were so messed up
% because of this, you know.
% Not only my family,
% but my victim's family.
% >> They can, never again,
% can they claim ignorance, and
% say that they don't understand
% the impact of their actions
% on a victim.
% Because it's forever changed.
% If they have come into this
% group, not only with their head,
% but with their heart,
% and they listen with their head
% and their heart,
% there's no way that they
% can ever claim ignorance again
% and commit another crime
% without remembering that
% there's a consequence to this,
% not only on a victim's family,
% but on the offender's
% family as well.
% And on the offender directly,
% as well.
% >> I didn't think
% I was gonna learn anything.
% You know, I thought,
% you know, to be honest,
% I started this whole
% challenge possibilities
% because, you know,
% I'm going up for an appeal.
% And you know, I figured
% if I graduate from this program,
% I'll make, you know,
% the records look good.
% And maybe the judge
% can look at that and, you know,
% be like, "Maybe he did change."
% But it was all a deception.
% Like yesterday, I touched a
% little bit about my grandmother.
% And you know, in my culture,
% it's kind of a taboo
% to talk about the dead.
% I feel that my grandma
% is still watching over me,
% you know, and she's telling me
% that I've been living my life
% astray, and that I've been
% messing up my life.
% And last night, for the first
% time in a long time,
% I seen my grandma's face,
% and she smiled at me.
% >> Processes that put victims
% and offenders together,
% whether it's their own victims
% or not, humanizes both sides.
% And there's a new understanding
% about the harm, and also
% the remorse and the kinds
% of things we heard in this room
% where offenders truly are sorry
% for what happened,
% and really want to make amends
% in some way.
% >> Now here I sit
% within this reality, wishing
% and dreaming of being free.
% Each time I cry,
% I come a little loose
% at the seams.
% I found a band of brothers
% who have led me to change,
% unlike the others.
% Admitting I've done wrong,
% accepting this is where
% I belong.
% I've taken a life
% which I cannot return.
% I'm wishing for another chance
% which I must earn
% to hit the streets
% to show the man I have become.
% >> There's no doubt in my mind
% that it's remorseful.
% It's pretty hard for men,
% hardened criminals
% in a max prison to reach
% that point of vulnerability
% where they break down and cry
% in front of fellow inmates.
% That's not something
% that you do,
% that's not a safe thing
% to do in an institution.
% And yet, without exception,
% in the nine or ten years
% that we've been doing that,
% that's what happens.
% And that's when you know that
% you've gotten to their hearts.
% And that's where hope starts.
% >> You can have a seat here.
% Jessica, Amy.
% You remember Amy.
% >> A major component of the
% restorative justice initiative
% is victim-offender conferencing.
% During these meetings,
% victims have an opportunity
% to meet their offenders
% face-to-face.
% >> So many victims and survivors
% who meet the very person
% that hurt them
% or killed their loved one.
% It's about getting answers
% to questions,
% "Why did you do this?"
% "What did my loved one say
% to you before you killed him?
% Did they ask for me?"
% It's about letting them know
% the impact.
% >> Eleven years ago,
% Amy's sister Cheryl was killed
% during a burglary at her home.
% At the time,
% Jessica was only 14 years old.
% Today they are meeting
% for the first time.
% >> If you can remember anything
% of that day, could you please
% tell me what happened?
% Can you tell me
% from the beginning?
% >> Billy went in first.
% I remember seeing the knife
% in the air.
% But I never actually
% saw it make contact.
% I don't remember that.
% They said
% I went into a state of shock.
% I hate that this happened.
% I hate that I was involved
% in something like this.
% And I'm sorry.
% >> You know how many times
% he stabbed her, don't you?
% >> Twenty-nine.
% >> Thirty-two.
% >> And also, the knife,
% when he was finished--
% It was a steak knife
% is what it appeared to be.
% It was in a "U" shape
% when he was done.
% >> We can't change the past.
% That's true for all of us.
% All we can try to do
% is to do good in the future.
% And we have to tell offenders,
% even though
% they've done great harm
% and we hold them accountable,
% that they, too, can contribute
% to doing good in the future,
% and actually moving
% in a positive way.
% And when that happens
% communities are pleased,
% and so are victims, that
% at least some good is coming out
% of the bad thing that happened.
% >> I would really like to say
% I do forgive you.
% But at this point,
% I still can't do that.
% I can understand your life,
% how hard of a life you've had
% and how you can make
% wrong turns.
% But at this point,
% I just can't yet.
% There might be some day
% that I can, but it's not today.
% >> If the institutions
% through this very, very
% wonderful process can help
% empower victims and survivors
% in a very positive way;
% positively impact victims;
% and have offenders
% either be good prisoners
% not causing problems,
% not hurting people
% in the institution,
% being good mentors to others;
% or if they're released
% to be contributing members
% of are community, everyone wins.
% And it's a good investment
% in the future.
% >> In fact, there's actually
% more studies to validate
% the effectiveness
% of restorative justice dialogue,
% particularly through
% victim-offender mediation,
% than there are for
% many correctional programs,
% criminal justice programs,
% that we spend
% millions of dollars on.
% >> When you see the men
% sitting around these groups,
% and the men,
% the 22,000 offenders
% that are in prison,
% most of those offenders
% are being released
% back to the community.
% And anything we can do
% while they are here in prison
% to help in that transformation,
% so that they go back
% to that community
% not as an angry vengeful person,
% but as a person who
% wants to do positive things
% and have some tools to do that.
% That's very important.
% And that's why
% we should care about this.
% >> Ninety-five percent or more
% of cases that go
% into restorative justice
% are not severe violent cases.
% And thank God the vast majority
% of crime in American society
% is not severe violence,
% murder, and near murder,
% even though that's highlighted
% a lot in the media.
% Most crime is property crime,
% or minor fights, things like
% vandalism, burglary, theft.
% >> Can you tell these folks
% what happened?
% >> The principles
% that are at the core of the
% restorative justice philosophy
% are being developed in this
% training session in Milwaukee.
% The session provides
% participants the opportunity
% to learn about community
% conferencing
% while role playing
% as victims, offenders,
% and invested community members.
% >> Traditionally,
% as a prosecutor,
% I would a handle cases in a way
% that was very offender oriented.
% And this process,
% the restorative justice dialogue
% process that we use here
% called "community conferencing"
% really provides an opportunity
% for victims
% to have a more meaningful role
% in the way we do justice.
% >> Our kids are
% really facing a lot of things.
% At home, in the streets,
% and the things that they
% are learning just in their,
% you know, in their every day
% interactions with the people
% that are close to them
% are not positive things.
% If we can step in and
% give them some of that
% positive interaction,
% by letting them know that their
% actions are not acceptable.
% That we don't accept
% their actions,
% but we do accept them as people.
% >> We can't foist on a victim
% to say you should be forgiving
% this offender, because
% he's 15 or 18 years old;
% he's had a bad life, etc.
% There's a lot of rightfully
% angry, angry victims.
% And that is a natural reaction.
% But by participating
% in a restorative intervention,
% it helps the victim unload
% some of that anger.
% How can that be bad?
% >> Another example of
% restorative justice principles
% at work in the community
% is the Teen Court System
% in place in many cities
% throughout the country.
% Madison's Allied Neighborhood
% is starting their Teen Court
% program as a way to combat
% juvenile crime.
% >> I'm going to use
% a talking piece.
% This is the talking the piece
% that I like to use
% because I'm part Cherokee.
% It's been through
% a lot of circles
% and a lot of processes, so it
% has a lot of positive energy.
% When you have the talking piece,
% it's your turn to talk.
% I'm going to introduce myself.
% My name is Sheri.
% I'm the coordinator
% of the new Allied
% Community Youth Court.
% >> I'm Dan Koval.
% I'm the Judge
% for the City of Madison.
% I'm really pleased and thankful
% that all of you kids
% have taken the time
% out of a Saturday.
% I know that's not easy
% to come here and be part
% of this, and I really appreciate
% you doing that.
% >> I came here to try
% to help other kids
% that get into trouble,
% you know, kids like us.
% >> What the Teen Court is,
% is if kids, juveniles, come
% to court and they plead guilty
% to a certain offense,
% and those kids either live
% in the Allied neighborhood
% or have committed a violation
% in the Allied neighborhood
% then, if once they plead guilty,
% I give them the option
% to have the peer court
% do the sentencing.
% >> The program is based on
% restorative justice principles.
% We look at,
% how has the community
% been affected by the crime
% that's been committed.
% We want to know
% who has been affected,
% you know, the community,
% the people, who's been affected
% by it, and what needs to be done
% to repair the harm.
% >> We are trying to impact
% on that by providing
% them opportunities.
% One of which
% is the youth Teen Court,
% which will avoid them having
% contact with the authorities.
% I think it's a good thing,
% because it reduces the
% incarceration of individuals.
% Also, it reduces court costs.
% It also gives the youth
% an opportunity to involve
% themselves in their community.
% >> I believe that restorative
% justice is helping to make
% the community whole again,
% and helping the offender
% understand how their actions
% impact others
% in their community.
% And rather than them
% having to just simply pay a fine
% and then walk away
% from the incident
% without a second thought.
% >> The goal is to try
% to communicate that to the kids,
% have them feel a part
% of the community, and have them
% feel that we want to be part
% of the solution,
% rather than part of the problem.
% All raise your right hands,
% "I solemnly swear..."
% As a judge, I do care
% about the community, but
% I don't live in this community.
% And I think it is important
% to involve the members
% of the community in
% making these kinds of decisions.
% >> I think this is really
% the wave of the future for
% particularly youth violations
% or adolescent violations,
% and a way to impact youth
% and to hopefully prevent
% larger problems later.
% >> One of the most exciting
% things occurring in this
% restorative justice movement
% today, it's moving far beyond
% just criminal and juvenile
% justice settings.
% In fact, some of the most
% promising developments
% are in school settings.
% At a time when
% there's so much bullying
% that we're seeing,
% and bullying that explodes
% into some of these shootings,
% there's never been a more
% important time in our history,
% from my perspective, to use
% restorative justice processes
% as part of the very fabric
% of school teaching.
% >> Riverview Middle School
% in Barron, Wisconsin,
% has taken the principles
% of restorative practices
% and incorporated them
% to a system-wide philosophy.
% >> The people who are
% being bullied could let out
% their feelings, and not
% let the bully know it was them
% at the bully meeting
% so that the people knew
% they were bullies.
% >> We looked at what was
% happening in our schools.
% And we found out that
% things weren't working well.
% Students were being punished
% and sent home.
% In fact,
% some of the punishment--
% They wanted to go home.
% They wanted to be suspended
% from school.
% So we were thinking how best
% could we change the behavior
% of the students in our school.
% It really started
% about five years ago.
% >> We saw this kind of
% transformation take place
% and thought, well, this is
% kind of a common sense approach
% to discipline.
% >> We look at it and say, okay,
% how can we help this student
% look at what they've done wrong
% or where they could have made
% a better decision.
% How they can fix it now.
% And how can they change
% their decisions in the future.
% >> Since we've started
% using restorative practices,
% I know that discipline problems
% have really dropped off
% in my classroom.
% Very seldom do I have to worry
% about big interruptions
% to instruction.
% >> You have to have kids
% in the right frame of mind
% to come to school to learn.
% If a child comes to school
% and his mother has just been
% beaten up by his father
% the night before,
% how much are they
% going to learn that day?
% Or, if there's been a bully
% that's been bullying them
% on the bus for three days,
% and the child is constantly
% thinking about it,
% what are they going
% to learn that day?
% We have to take care of that
% baggage for the children.
% That's what we do in homerooms
% in the morning.
% >> We think it's made
% a huge impact on our bullying.
% Our students are more
% understanding of how they affect
% others, and how their behaviors
% are webbed in with
% the behaviors and the feelings
% of all students in our building.
% It not only helps with bullying,
% it helps our entire school
% climate, because we have
% more of an understanding
% that we're part of
% a much bigger system,
% of a much bigger world.
% >> Since we've actually
% decreased our class time
% a couple minutes
% each eight hours that we're here
% to build this homeroom time in,
% I've actually increased
% the amount of curriculum
% that I present each year,
% simply due to the fact
% that I have less discipline
% issues to deal with.
% I'm not spending as much
% time handling those things,
% and more time, ultimately,
% presenting my curriculum.
% >> We believe that
% dealing with issues
% while they're still fixable.
% The last thing you want to do
% is allow something to escalate.
% So we look at practices.
% And we look at ways
% to help kids resolve problems
% and help them address issues,
% help them talk about them,
% get them out on the table,
% and get them fixed before
% they become larger issues,
% and before they get to the point
% where they're out of their
% control, out of their hands
% and now have to move
% to a higher level.
% >> What happened in the hall
% that one day
% when you guys got into it.
% You want to explain
% what happened?
% >> Well, I don't know.
% We were just talking.
% I was talking to a friend.
% And I asked a friend something.
% He thought I said his name,
% and he got all mad
% about something, and I'm like,
% "I didn't say your name."
% Then I pushed him.
% Then he pushed me,
% and it just went on from there.
% >> Okay, how about you?
% What did you hear?
% >> It was the same thing.
% >> The restorative philosophy
% is really one of caring
% and one of communication,
% where victims and offenders
% actually communicate
% face to face.
% Restorative practice is just
% one of improving communication
% between people.
% >> Merrill Middle School
% in Oshkosh, Wisconsin,
% is applying a different approach
% to discipline problems
% by using restorative practices,
% bringing together students,
% teachers and parents
% to address problems
% before they escalate.
% >> I didn't throw anything
% at him until he kept doing it...
% >> My experience with
% punishment in schools is that
% it's a relatively small number
% of students that that works for.
% There are few who
% respond okay to punishment.
% They learn their lesson
% and never do it again.
% But after several years
% of walking past detention rooms
% and seeing the same students,
% the same students in those rooms
% time after time again.
% You know, this isn't working.
% It just isn't working.
% You made reference to Kaitlin
% making fun of your work boots.
% It sounds like
% that was an issue for you.
% Can you say how you felt
% when that happened?
% >> I felt kind of--
% I don't really know how to
% explain it, but normally,
% I don't get upset
% about clothing.
% Because it's kind of like,
% hey, if these people
% don't like me for who I am,
% that's too bad, that's who I am.
% But I've never got picked on
% for wearing shoes.
% And then all of the sudden
% this comes up,
% "Redneck, you're wearing boots."
% Big deal.
% It's the middle of winter.
% I walk home.
% I wear boots.
% >> Restorative justice in
% schools is really about respect
% and about helping students
% learn to take responsibility
% for their own actions,
% and looking at the impact
% their actions have on others.
% >> As a positive alternative
% to the more punitive detention
% approach, restorative practices
% helps build life-long
% interpersonal
% communication skills.
% >> It worked out well,
% because it brought everyone's
% feelings out.
% But then it came back around
% and calmed everything down,
% and we came up
% with a way to end it.
% >> Detentions, I don't think
% really do a whole lot, because
% this is all interpersonal
% relations and they're kids.
% Part of our job, I think,
% is to help kids learn
% how to get along
% so that they can get along
% when they're adults.
% Because you're working
% with a variety of people
% in a variety of situations.
% It's a learning thing.
% This should be part
% of what you learn growing up.
% >> We're trying very hard
% in the school setting
% to give a voice to the victim.
% Although, I'm not sure in the
% school setting that there's
% as many clear cut victims
% as there may be
% in a criminal justice system.
% >> Whether it's in a school
% setting or a maximum-security
% prison, restorative justice
% is a non-punitive approach
% to conflict resolution.
% By bringing both the perpetrator
% and victim face-to-face,
% restorative justice can initiate
% the process of healing.
% Both parties are engaged
% in the sharing of pain,
% suffering, anger, and guilt.
% Through dialogue, remorse
% can lead to understanding.
% And for some victims,
% understanding
% may lead to forgiveness,
% freeing both parties
% to move on with their lives.