Gabriella Mahaffey Restorative Justice Spring 2024 Written Assignment Part 2.
For this essay, I decided to continue with the case study involving my father's childhood best friend. I talked about 2 different crimes Freddie committed, but in this essay, I will be focusing on the first crime. However, I still keep the second crime and its effects on the stakeholders in the back of my mind when deciding which restorative practice would be most effective. After taking a lot of time to reflect on this case and our class discussions, I believe that circles are the best restorative practice to use. Two things about a circle that I think make it more beneficial than the other practices are its emphasis on the commitment to follow through and that…show more content… Rather than focusing on the crime, we focus on the aftermath and how it still affects the people around him. It is also important to show him forgiveness and allow him to move on from this and live the life he should have been living this whole time. I think this case is unique because one of the victims was actually an offender, too. The 17-year-old son agreed to help Freddie steal that money and fake the kidnapping. Having a conference like circles could help the 17-year-old stay out of trouble and make him responsible for what he did, even though he got no jail time. I think that he got off pretty easily since it was his own family, but a circle would have been a perfect environment for the 17-year-old to own up to his mistakes and allow the community to come to an understanding. This circle would also allow the DeSales community to come up with a plan to avoid another situation like this happening to its students. This would be the main need for the community. The need for the 17-year-old would be that he needs to be held responsible for his part in the crime and to come to a realization that he can not continue…show more content… Lastly, restoration for the family would be to see the old Freddie again. The one who had so much potential to be so much more. They would want to see him be the father he was destined to be. I don't think using a circle would keep the case from going to court, but I do think it would help in the sentencing process and could be continued for a period after the case is closed. I think that because he was an adult and committed a criminal offense, he was going to go to prison regardless. However, having a circle could help all of the stakeholders gain understanding and avoid more harm. I do think punishment should be involved in the outcome. The punishment for Freddie would include some prison time, community service, and counseling once he was released. Once he was released, he should have been given the resources to move away from that lifestyle and to cling to something else other than following his older brothers. I also think the 17-year-old should be punished as well. His punishment should be community service and possible suspension from school. I think his punishment would also involve his parents deciding how to discipline him. I do think that along with these punishments, there should be ongoing support offered to them both. They are
