Search results for category: Offender SupportIn another place there is a discussion developing on a theory of the mechanics of forgiveness that, has raised an interesting question for me – indeed it is a revisiting of a discussion that began some months ago. The theory being submitted is that forgiveness requires restitution; citing the story of Zaccheus who having encountered Christ, is moved to state before his community: “Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it for times over”; to which Jesus replies: “today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendent of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and save what was lost.”
This case is one that cries out for a restorative encounter of some sort.
DEAR DR. GRAHAM: I recently gave my life to Jesus, which was a miracle because I've lived like the devil most of my life. My question is this: Should I try to go back and straighten out some of the things I did wrong? I know I've hurt a lot of people, and I feel bad about it. -- D.R.
Overall, 85 per cent of victims and 80 per cent of offenders were very or quite satisfied with the JRC conference itself, with all the randomised trials showing at least three-quarters of victims very or quite satisfied. This is a key outcome measure in the evaluation. The outcome agreement was also seen as satisfactory – only 12 per cent of victims and 10 per cent of offenders expressed any doubts about it and almost all thought it was fair. Any dissatisfaction tended to be related to dissatisfaction with other aspects of the conference.
Divisions between Black Majority congregations and the historic Christian churches in Britain are hindering practical efforts to tackle the issues surrounding young black people's over representation in the criminal justice system says Faith Ayoola, director of Churches' Criminal Justice Forum. "A house divided against itself can not stand", she declared today, adopting a well-known biblical allusion.
Anderson, a former IRA prisoner and Sinn Fein's director of unionist engagement, called on Campbell to discuss the matter to help Northern Ireland move on from its troubled past. She said: "At the minute, ex-political prisoners face a number of obstacles." These included difficulty getting insurance, mortgages and jobs because of their record, she added. Anderson said: "Sinn Fein has been pressing for these obstacles to be removed because I know ex-prisoners can provide a useful contribution to society and towards national reconciliation.
You see some sad things in a newspapering job... . I've interviewed the homeless, the abandoned, the lost and the lonely. Been at the funerals of innocents. Heard parents wail over a child's suicide. fter 20-odd years of relatively stoic reportage, I almost lost it Sunday. I nearly cried for Andrew Balser, who died at age 14 in a stupid teenage prank in 2005. I clenched down hard when Kyle Pickett, just 20 years old and charged with his best friend's death, sobbed out a detailed confession.
Jacksonville Sheriff John Rutherford said he wants to provide violent offenders with opportunities to make good choices while continuing to enforce consequences when they make bad decisions. Rutherford announced Wednesday "Project Dismas," which he said will help with that mission. Dismas is the patron saint of reformed sinners, he said. Duval County already has numerous programs dedicated to helping people being released from prisons and jails. Project Dismas will help match violent offenders with those existing resources, Rutherford said.
ESPERE was begun in Bogotá, Colombia in 2001 by Leonel Narváez, a Consolata missioner and sociologist with a doctorate from Harvard University. For many years, Narváez worked in Kenya and, later on, in the Amazon region of Colombia. It was there that he saw how the cycle of violence repeats itself with the victim becoming aggressive and continuing the cycle. Narváez found the Fundacion para la Reconciliación (Foundation for Reconciliation) and ESPERE has spread throughout Colombia where reconciliation centers work with diverse populations such as victims of violence, displaced people, gang members, children, adolescents, adults, prison inmates, community action groups, etc.
A 20-year-old man must perform 150 hours of community work service at Calvary Cemetery in Austin for stealing and vandalizing the Catholic cemetery's Virgin Mary statue last summer.
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