Restorative
justice places
power in victims' hands
By
Tony Anderson
Wisconsin Law Journal
 |
| Janine
P. Geske
Marquette
Law School |
When
Lynn BeBeau's husband was shot and killed in the line of duty 23 years ago, she
viewed the subsequent legal process as an "injustice system." Although
the man who killed her husband eventually wound up in prison, the process filled
her with rage.
BeBeau's
husband — her high school sweetheart — was a police officer who was
killed protecting a 15-year-old boy. The shooting took place while he was responding
to a late-night domestic violence call and left her a widow with two children.
Her
anger not only focused on the man who shot her husband, but on members of legal
system who were supposed to bring the killer to justice. She recalled being treated
like a thorn in the side of the district attorney handling the case. She expressed
frustration at the prosecutor for making a plea agreement based on concerns about
the cost and time required to take the case to trial.
BeBeau
related her fear and rage at having to leave town for three weeks after the killer,
who was not confined, called prior to his sentencing in an effort to induce her
to ask for leniency.
Today,
BeBeau promotes a victim-centered approach to justice with potential benefits
for victims and offenders, called restorative justice.
Restorative
justice is a philosophy that supports victims and communities as they deal with
the aftermath of crime. In some cases, it brings victims and offenders together
in a process that promotes healing for the victims and teaches offenders the consequences
of their actions by showing them the effects their crimes had on the victims.
Marquette
University Law School has launched a Restorative Justice Initiative in an effort
to teach law students about this philosophy. The program also is designed to give
students direct exposure to the process and to help build communication among
the restorative justice programs throughout the state.
BeBeau
spoke Thursday during an event to help launch Marquette's new initiative. The
program featured four victims of crime, who shared their experiences and related
the benefits they had received by participating in different types of restorative
justice programs.
The
Restorative Justice Initiative is the creation of Prof. Janine P. Geske. During
the past five years, Geske has been actively involved in victim-offender conferencing
at the maximum security prison in Green Bay. It's a process that she views as
beneficial for the victims and the offenders.
 |
| Lynn
BeBeau, whose husband was killed 23 years ago, tell how restorative justice programs
help the victims of violent crimes. |
"This
initiative's focus is supporting victims and communities through the healing process,"
Geske told the Wisconsin Law Journal. "Offenders are an essential ingredient
of this. Part of this process is to have them take responsibility for what they
have done and to work toward repairing the harm — whether that means (working)
with the victim or the community in terms of their own rehabilitation."
Through
victim-offender conferencing, Geske has brought victims of sexual assault or family
members of murder victims together with the offenders in a carefully structured
setting. The meeting has to be initiated by the victim and the Marquette law professor
meets separately with each side in a screening and preparation process.
One
essential element for any meeting is that the offender accepts responsibility
for the criminal act. Without that, the process does not move forward. Victims
are allowed to tell how the incident affected their lives and ask questions of
the offender.
"From
my own experience, when an offender really understands and hears from the victim
about the harm and its ripple effect, they are much less likely to harm anyone
else," Geske continued.
The
restorative justice philosophy covers a variety of activities including the victim-offender
conferencing. Community conferencing is another process where victims, offenders
and community members meet to discuss the crimes and decide how offenders will
make amends. Victim-impact panels are being used in drunken driving situations
where victims speak to groups of repeat offenders rather than the individuals
in their specific cases. Those are just a few of the activities that fall within
the restorative justice spectrum.
David
Lerman, of the Milwaukee County District Attorney's office, heads up the county's
community conferencing program. The program focuses primarily on property offenses
and is funded by a state grant. The program has resulted in 190 community conferences
taking place.
Lerman
spoke Nov. 17 during another program designed to kick off Marquette's Restorative
Justice Initiative. He noted that restorative justice programs focus on helping
the victim and community heal; however, one of the side benefits is the impact
on recidivism rates.
A
Legislative Audit Bureau report compared recidivism rates for 47 people who participated
in Milwaukee County's program from August 2002 through July 2003 with 52 nonparticipants.
The review indicated that by February 2004 4.3 percent of the participants were
charged with another crime compared with 13.5 percent of the nonparticipants.
The review also indicated that within one year of participation only 8.8 percent
of offenders with no prior convictions were arrested compared with 27.6 percent
of the nonparticipant offenders.
Cheryl
Stinski also spoke during the Nov. 17 program. Stinski is involved in the Fox
Valley Community Restorative Justice Project. She noted that many of the victims
who work with that program participate because they want to see something positive
come out of the incident. One burglary victim said she would participate if meeting
with the offender would "do some good."
Stinski
acknowledged that restorative justice is not the whole answer to the problem of
crime. But it can be used in conjunction with the other tools that are in place.
"Often,
this is the only place where the victim has a voice," Stinski said.
Now,
Geske hopes to teach others about the restorative justice philosophy. Marquette
will be taking a three-pronged approach with its Restorative Justice Initiative.
First,
the school will offer a course that looks at restorative justice and how it interfaces
with the rest of the criminal justice system. Second, Geske has developed a clinical
program that allows law students to be involved in victim-offender conferencing.
Currently, she has half a dozen homicide and sexual assault cases where students
are helping her.
Finally,
Geske wants the program to facilitate communication between the various restorative
justice programs throughout the state. She hopes to provide technical support
to those programs and establish a training program for restorative justice.
Law
School Dean Joseph Kearney and Marquette University Provost Madeline Wake told
attendees at the Thursday night program that the Restorative Justice Initiative
fits in well with Marquette's philosophy.
"Our
mission on a day-to-day basis is transformation — transforming students so
they leave better students and better people," Wake said.
As
for BeBeau, she came to a point where she realized the need to forgive everyone
who she blamed for her husband's death and the way things were handled; that included
the killer, the district attorney, herself and God. She was supposed to have accompanied
her husband that evening for a ride-along, but stayed home after her daughter
became ill. One of the things that haunted her was how things might have turned
out differently if she had been with her husband.
The
man who killed BeBeau's husband committed suicide while he was in prison. As a
result, she was never able to meet with him in a victim-offender conference.
However,
she has participated in other restorative justice efforts which she found beneficial.
"It's
life changing," BeBeau said.
Tony
Anderson can be reached by email.
