Ross London, in his recent book, Crime, Punishment and Criminal Justice – From Margins to Mainstream, argues that much of the identity crisis of the RJ field has been caused by the misguided notion of a “paradigm shift” popularized by my colleague Howard Zehr, one of the founding voices in the RJ movement, in his [...]

  I am pleased that my friend and colleague Carl Stauffer has agreed to co-author this blog with me.  Carl has brought new wisdom, insights and energy to our program and will be providing academic leadership in restorative justice now that I’m semi-retired.  I have invited Carl to introduce himself below. – Howard   I [...]

Webinar: Does Restorative Justice Need Forgiveness?: A dialogue with Sujatha Baliga On January 5, The New York Times Magazine carried a story about the use of a restorative conference in a murder case in the early stages of the legal process, prior to a plea. The case was also highlighted on theToday Show a few days later. The story was [...]

The following is an invited guest post by my friend, colleague and fellow Morehouse College grad, David Anderson Hooker. I have good news and bad news for the family and supporters of Trayvon Martin: The ‘justice’ you seek is not in the system from which you seek it!  If this sounds like a Jedi mind [...]

Recently I had the opportunity to spend an afternoon with a friend of some 20 years.  Tyrone Werts is a wise man, a leader, an inspiration to many, who has spent years organizing and helping to sustain others.  He has long been actively engaged in efforts to reduce violence in society. Tyrone Werts, early 1990s [...]

As a response to earlier blog entries, Jon Kidde developed an RJ continuum and set of principles or indicators.  With his permission, I am posting them as a guest entry.   Jon welcomes feedback on these. To see a larger version of the continuum, click here. RESTORATIVE JUSTICE: principles and indicators Engagement Involve those impacted/affected, [...]

As is obvious from the gap in my posts, I’ve been taking a break from my blog this sumer.  However, I will come out of hiding long enough to post a few recent resources. They aren’t the usual summer beach reading but maybe they will be of interest anyway. Our friends at Community Justice Initiatives [...]

Guest Blog by Aaron Lyons “True justice emerges through conversation” – Howard Zehr “So, what are your thoughts on the killing of Osama Bin Laden?,” a woman inquires almost casually at a spring dinner party. Admittedly, the US military operation in Pakistan occupies the minds of many at this time – but surely this is [...]

A recent conference on our campus entitled Conversations on Attachment included two prominent scholars working in neuroscience:  Dr. James Coan, a psychologist, and Dr. Daniel Siegel, a psychiatrist.  A few points from their presentations help explain why relationships are so important: Coan: “Our brains are designed to be with other people.”  The “baseline brain” is [...]

“Stories are the way we domesticate the world’s disorder.” (Bruce Jackson, The Story is True) My last entry emphasized the importance of story.  Since stories are essential to the experience of victims and offenders – and to all of us – I want to explore this topic a bit further here. Our histories, our identities, [...]