Restorative Justice: Bringing the Victim and Perpetrator Together
How can bringing together the victim and the perpetrator of a crime benefit both of them, as well as their families and their communities? Reverend Jerry Hancock, a former defense lawyer and assistant district attorney, is now Director of Prison Ministry at the First Congregational Church in Madison, Wis., joins Dick to address this topic.
Typical questions a victim or their family may ask an offender can range from the general (“why?”) to the very specific (“what happened to that billfold?”). This “victim-offender conferencing” can provide closure to both the victim and the offender.
“There’s a need for helping the victim heal, there’s a need for the offender to understand and there’s a role for the community to step up and say, ‘we have to take responsibility’,” Hancock said.
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