justice, n. Etymology: < Old French justise, -ice (jostise) uprightness, equity, vindication of right, administration of law, jurisdiction, court of justice, infliction of punishment, gallows, judge, etc. –Oxford English Dictionary online The customary way of thinking of justice – usually tied to determining what kind of punishment is appropriate for a particular wrongdoing – is ...More
In addition to the children of prisoners profiled in What Will Happen to Me?, the same question could be asked of many others touched upon in this edition of Peacebuilder: child soldiers and ex-combatants around the world; confused teens harmed by draconian school policies; survivors of trauma; overburdened officials in criminal justice, educational, and other ...More
One cost of harsh punishment The need for new approaches to school discipline came to the attention of tens of thousands in the nation’s capital when The Washington Post ran the headline “Fairfax school disciplinary policies scrutinized after apparent suicide.” It was January 22, 2011, and the opening paragraphs of the newspaper article read: The ...More
Educating for peacebuilding As school districts across North America – indeed perhaps across the world – struggle with how to enable students to study productively in safe, respectful school environments, more school personnel are checking into restorative justice and asking themselves whether the practices of “RJ” could be applied in their environments. Certain school districts ...More
The transition from schoolteaching to restorative justice practitioner was not a big leap for Rebecca Stone (MA ’11). She had worked in a therapeutic boarding school for two years and grasped the skills and methodologies helpful for addressing problems with special education students. She was patient, affirming, flexible. A good listener. All of which stand ...More
I have seen many negative, harmful incidents go through restorative processes and come out the other side with transformed students and community members. This is not something people involved in student discipline are used to seeing. -Josh Bacon, Phd, Director of Judicial Affairs, James Madison University In just three years, Josh Bacon has mobilized some ...More
In the summer of 2010, a Massachusetts man who had just retired from 33 years of policing – the last 17 as a police chief – did an odd thing for relaxation and rejuvenation: he enrolled in Howard Zehr’s restorative justice class at EMU’s Summer Peacebuilding Institute (SPI). Chief Len Wetherbee already knew quite a ...More
Ali Gohar updates jirga As the founding director of JustPeace International, Ali Gohar (MA ’02) has worked at updating the practice of jirga, an ancient tradition in Pakistan whereby respected and wise elders deliberate in an open community forum to resolve conflicts. In 2003, he and fellow CJP graduate Hassan Yousufza (MA ’03) co-authored Pukhtoon ...More
At the end of his first year as a Fulbright scholar at CJP, Abou Ag Ahiyoya of Mali said he has been impressed with CJP’s emphasis on transformation at the grassroots level. “Until now, I have seen a top-down approach for solving problems,” Abou said in a May 2011 interview with Peacebuilder. Abou comes from ...More
Restorative justice is fragile. It hinges on people taking determined steps to relentlessly pursue their healing despite the pain it may bring. It challenges us to growth, to imagine beyond the current status quo and to take the creative risk of feeling and acting in a different, yet deeply courageous way. –Carl Stauffer, EMU restorative justice ...More
