Reimagining Justice This Month highlights stories about effective responses to violence – responses that disrupt cycles of violence, heal trauma, and address structural racism.
Reckoning with Violence, New York Times
People convicted of violent crimes are too often overlooked in justice reform movements. If the ultimate goal is to end mass incarceration, though, we cannot ignore the root causes that have led to approximately 900,000 people being incarcerated because of violence. Leading thinker and writer Michelle Alexander points to restorative justice as the way to give survivors the opportunity to tell us what they need to heal, and ultimately stop the cycle of trauma and violence.
Until We Reckon: Violence, Mass Incarceration, and a Road to Repair, Danielle Sered
Alexander’s piece draws from a profoundly important new book from Danielle Sered, the executive director of Common Justice, one of the leading organizations using restorative justice to break the cycle of trauma and violence. Sered draws on her deep experience in this movement and uses evocative storytelling to demonstrate that we have the opportunity to transform justice right now.
Jackson, Mississippi Turns to Innovative Program to Lower Its Gun Deaths, Juvenile Justice Information Exchange
After the fatal shooting of a beloved pastor, the mayor of Jackson, Mississippi, is partnering with medical professionals, community leaders, and formerly incarcerated residents to heal a city riddled with gun violence. Their guiding principle is that gun violence is a public health issue, and community-based intervention will prevent its spread.
A prison program in Connecticut seeks to find out what happens when prisoners are treated as victims, The Conversation
Incarcerated people are twice as likely to have experienced abuse and trauma in their past. The Connecticut Department of Corrections’ pilot program, T.R.U.E., recognizes the powerful, proven connection between experiencing trauma before committing harm through a criminal act. T.R.U.E. aims to treat the incarcerated for their own trauma as part of rehabilitation.
Giving Kids a Say: Schools Switch from Suspensions to Restorative Justice, St. Louis Public Radio
Restorative justice practices are making headway in schools nationwide. For students in some St. Louis schools, restorative justice has been a means of curbing high suspension, and engaging young people’s agency in fostering relationships rooted in healthy communication and peer accountability.
