Daniel* remembers the words, spoken by a prison chaplain, that changed how he saw the life still ahead of him: “There might be a way, it’s called restorative justice.”
Daniel was in prison because he sexually assaulted a minor. He recalls that during his time in court, he was abundantly aware of the cost of his actions and the consequences to himself, but it was the moral debt to the survivor of his crime that weighed on him most.
The prison system, unfortunately, gave him very little support. He was considered to be a low risk to reoffend, but that didn’t absolve him of the inner turmoil he felt over what he’d done. Through the chaplains he spoke with while incarcerated, he was connected to MCC partner Centre de Justice Reparatrice (Centre for Services in Restorative Justice; CSJR) where his journey toward restorative justice began.
Manon Mazenod is a community services agent with CSJR. She says restorative justice is not an easy path, and it’s not for everyone. It requires a great deal of self-reflection, commitment and humility on the part of the person who committed the crime, strongly supported through counselling and therapy services provided by CSJR.
“The definition for restorative justice, it's to create a space for dialogue between a person that was a victim of a crime and a person who perpetrated a crime,” says Mazenod. “It’s distinct from the criminal justice system, but it's complimentary to it.”
The “encounters”, as CSJR distinguishes them, are the climax of a long road to bettering oneself. They connect a victim and a perpetrator of similar crimes — importantly, not the victim and perpetrator of the same incident — and a community member to allow all parties the opportunity for the closure and reconciliation they are seeking.
In Daniel’s case, he spent many months in therapy before his encounter took place, work that was essential for him to receive what the encounter could offer him.
“[CSJR] assisted me in being able to connect with who “this Daniel” is; the one who made the wrong decisions, took the wrong paths and made a victim [of someone],” he says. “That enabled me to verbalize it, which was a very, very big step. Then, to be able to verbalize all the emotions attached to it. So, for the first time in 47 years, I was able to express my feelings and not simply to look good or appear good to someone.”
Daniel’s encounter was with a woman who was a survivor of a crime similar to the one he’d committed. After all the preparation he’d taken, he said it felt like something was just beginning.
“We talked and I was able to remove a layer of armour. It allowed me to connect the recall with the whole emotional side... A new Daniel has begun to emerge. There's a Daniel who, before, was a professional who managed things, who dealt with people, who dealt with emotions and after that first face-to-face meeting, I was a Daniel who felt his emotions, but now he wanted to do the right thing, consider how others would feel, how they would react,” he says.
Unlike the criminal justice system, which works in formal sentences and legal definitions, restorative justice is deeply personal and dynamic.
“When a crime is committed, the offender has put their power over the victim,” says Mazenod. “Restorative justice is the process is recalibrating and bringing that power back to equilibrium. It’s not therapy, it’s not forgiveness, it’s something different.”
*Daniel’s last name has been omitted for privacy
Top photo caption: Manon Mazenod is a community services agent with MCC partner Centre de Justice Reparatrice (Centre for Services in Restorative Justice; CSJR). She works with perpetrators and survivors of crimes to reconcile and seek restorative justice for all parties. (MCC photo/Mackenzie Schwarz)