What is the "Right" Way for Youth to Navigate the Criminal Justice System?

R. Karl Hanson explains how low the risk is:

Restorative Justice: Program for Youth and Adults - A-Z How it's done

December 12, 2021

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Presentation on

Restorative Justice

by

Heather Thompson

July 15, 2021

Listen to Heather Thompson
(Former Federal Public Defender)

Share her personal story of her brother's murder and

her journey from a hardcore advocate of punishment

to an advocate for rehabilitation and
Restorative Justice.

Ms. Thompson served as a legal assistant at the Federal Public Defender’s office for four years, a position from which she nurtured her love of helping meet the needs of the clients. Prior to that, she worked with a non-profit organization that focused on bail reform. From 2007 until 2015, Ms. Thompson was a courtroom clerk at the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, Maryland. She holds an associate degree in Criminal Justice and is currently working toward a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice. Her greatest passion is restorative justice, a pursuit she nurtures through the DC Peace Team as a volunteer circle keeper and facilitator of workshops on circle keeping, victim-offender dialogues, anti-racism, and other restorative practices. Ms. Thompson is an experienced team lead for the DC Peace Team’s restorative justice department. She has helped develop the restorative justice training curriculum and tailors it to the needs of the community. She also has additional subject matter expertise in public speaking, conducting interviews, and serving on discussion panels to support restorative justice and criminal justice reform. Ms. Thompson has certificates in nonviolent conflict resolution and victim advocacy. In 2021, she was appointed to the Mental Health Advisory Committee for Montgomery County, Maryland.

CCJR-NH Restorative Justice ZOOM Presentation

September 21, 2021

Hear from: Mr. Mike MacFadzen, Executive Director,
NH Belknap County Restorative Justice Program
Sponsored by NH Citizens for Criminal Justice Reform

Radio Advertisement

Understanding sex offenders: the untold story

An inside look at the people on Nebraska's sex offender registry

WATCH THIS VIDEO - CLICK Picture

LINK: https://www.ketv.com/article/understanding-sex-offenders-the-untold-stor...

Dr. Lisa Sample with the University of Nebraska, Omaha, is one of the country’s leading researchers in sex offending.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Matthew T. Mangino: High Court has chance to set the record straight

NARSOL’s Vice Chair; Robin Vander Wall intertviewed by CBS17 News.

August, 09, 2018 - RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) - A North Carolina Court of Appeals ruling this could week is a win for advocates of changing some of the sex offender registry laws.

David Pakman Comes Out Against Sex Offender Registry

David Pakman's has a progressive news and political talk program, featuring biting social commentary, controversial interviews with liberal and conservative politicians, activists, and religious extremists.

Dr. Alissa R. Ackerman offers a new perspective on restorative justice and how it can help those who suffered from sexual assault. With her personal experience, she shares with everyone the true importance of engaging in difficult conversations to heal from intimate harm. Dr. Alissa R. Ackerman is a criminal justice professor at California State University, Fullerton, where she specializes in the study of sexual violence. For almost 15 years, Dr. Ackerman has devoted her career to better understanding how to prevent sexual misconduct of all kinds. Her research and advocacy work are nationally and internationally recognized and she writes extensively on topics related to gender-based violence and restorative justice. Her newest books include The New Campus Anti-Rape Movement: Internet Activist and Social Justice and Sex and Gender in the 2016 Election. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

The ACLU video “In Internal Exile - Miami Dade County

Residency restrictions often also reflect the entrenched belief that those convicted of sex crimes will reoffend. The Miami-Dade county ordinance, for instance, declares that those impacted by the ordinance “present an extreme threat to the public safety,” and “are extremely likely to use physical violence and to repeat their offenses.”

Lower Recidivism Rates

“There has been (plenty of) research that shows recidivism rates for individuals who have committed sexual offenses are lower than those of other crimes,” explained Laura Palumbo, Communications Director for National Sexual Violence Resource Center, a victims’ advocacy organization.

“But that’s not something that is understood by the general public; instead there is a mentality that it’s inevitable that people will reoffend.”

Residency restrictions can actually undermine public safety by depriving people of the very connections that help reduce recidivism—family support, stable housing, employment, and access to treatment, according to victims’ advocate Alison Feigh.

“Residency restrictions don’t help keep children safe.”

Rather than isolating people who have committed sexual harm, she said, “we want to surround them by their supports, we want to surround them with their services.

Most people do not take into consideration that behind every sex crime (or any crime) there is a back-story that’s more complex than can be read on the registry. Good people do bad things and make poor decisions, but that doesn’t necessarily make them bad people. The following video stories were produced by various groups seeking to educate the public about the many misconceptions and stereotyping that surrounds people on the sex offender registry. We challenge you to take a few moments and watch these moving stories.

Banished! - Florida's Paedophile Village