Howard Zehr, distinguished professor of restorative justice at Eastern Mennonite University, sent a note of response to some of the negative responses by restorative justice advocates to the NYTimes Magazine article that appeared a few weeks ago. He writes:
The responses by restorative justice advocates to the NYT article on justice and forgiveness are partly a result of some errors in the story and to things that were left out. Readers may be interested in this interview about the case with Sujatha Baliga who facilitated the case. And if it's helpful to know, I was the one that connected Sujatha to the families and advised behind the scenes along the way. There are of course many skilled facilitators for serious violence dialogues. What this case required at the pre-plea stage was an experienced attorney rooted in restorative justice. Sujatha ended up also being the facilitator because the families insisted on it.
Click here to read the interview with Sujatha Beliga at AlterNet.
Baliga wrote a piece about the case that was published in Tikkun Magazine a year ago. That can be found here. She was also interviewed about the case on NPR's Talk of the Nation in July, 2011. Click here.
The Zehr Institute for Restorative Justice is hosting a webinar this Wednesday, January 30, 2013, titled "Does Restorative Justice Need Forgiveness?: A dialogue with Sujatha Baliga." A discussion of the case with Howard Zehr and Sujatha Baliga will include the topics: How did this case unfold? What can restorative justice practitioners learn from this pioneering case? What is the relationship between forgiveness and restorative justice? How do we relate to the media on these issues? Details can be found here.
And this article from Eastern Mennonite University News explains how "Coverage in NY Times and NBC Sparks EMU Webinar on Restorative Justice." Click here to read the piece.
