“As A Survivor”
As a survivor of crime and as a person who’s committed a crime I've experienced our criminal justice system from both sides of the law. We need a restorative justice approach to deal with the trauma of crime that prosecution and punishment ignore.
As a survivor, I was 18, a soldier in the US ARMY and stationed at Fort Meyer Virginia, which is right across from Washington DC. One day walking back from the base I was offered a ride and a soda. I accepted both. Long story short I was date raped. I was devastated. I confided in a friend, a fellow soldier, one thing led to another and I found myself meeting with a prosecutor. Everything in that meeting was about the needs of the prosecution. My needs as a survivor of crime, experiencing trauma, were ignored. Needless to say prosecution was declined.
A few years later I committed a crime. During the sentencing I made a statement expressing my remorse for the pain I created for the family of the man's life I had taken. The problem was, the family was not there to hear the statement. I approached representatives from the DA's office to get that statement to the family. It was clear to me that they were not prepared to deal with a request dealing with remorse. Their mindset seemed to be "We've already prosecuted and punished, what more does the family need?" Why don't we ask the family and find out? This is why we need a restorative justice approach. When a crime is committed the stakeholders are identified. This includes the person who committed the crime, the people/person impacted by the crime and the community where the crime occurred. Next, through a series of dialogues, the stakeholders are able to acknowledge wrongdoing, identify the negative impacts of the crime and their needs.
Finally, the stakeholders move towards reparations, moving stakeholders forward on healing from the trauma of crime and to live crime-free lives. They do this in a way that respects their dignity and their humanity. Our current criminal legal system relies almost solely on prosecution and punishment. It does so at the expense of our humanity. As a person that has the lived experience of the criminal legal system from both sides of the law, as a survivor and a person who has done harm to another, I know firsthand that prosecution and punishment diminishes the humanity and agency of both parties. Expanding criminal legal responses to include alternative approaches like restorative justice provides a way forward to healing when a trauma-causing event like crime happens. When this approach is incorporated by our criminal legal system it becomes normalized and emulated in spaces like schools.
Think about that, young people learning that agency and healing are within them to help them develop resilience in confronting trauma-causing events. This approach makes us more human by leaning into honest communication and accountability. Whether a survivor or a person who has done harm to another, restorative justice allows us to use and listen to all of our voices.
Written by Michael S. Hale
