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Many people are curious about the status and consequences of the current U.S. criminal justice system. Topics like mass incarceration, the School to Prison Pipeline, and Community-Police Relations are receiving attention at state and federal levels of government, adding to the growing sense we could be doing better. Throughout the country, schools and communities are working together with local courts and police departments to explore changing how crime is addressed with a method called Restorative Justice.
Restorative Justice is based in ancient practices of indigenous peoples from around the world. People who have caused harm take ownership of their actions and commit to repairing relationships with victims and the community. Some see this as the answer to our current justice system, which can be adversarial, overly punitive and encourage a denial of responsibility. Others would say punishment is a more effective deterrent to crime, and that incarceration keeps our communities safer. In this conversation, we will explore personal experiences around justice and restoration and what the principles of Restorative Justice really look like in our lives and communities.
Living Room Conversations offers a simple, sociable and structured way to practice communicating across differences while building understanding and relationships. Typically, 4-6 people meet in person or by video call for about 90 minutes to listen to and be heard by others on one of our nearly 100 topics. Rather than debating or convincing others, we take turns talking to share, learn, and be curious. No preparation is required, though background links with balanced views are available on some topic pages online. Anyone can host using these italicized instructions. Hosts also participate.
Share your name, where you live, what drew you here, and if this is your first conversation.
These will set the tone of our conversation; participants may volunteer to take turns reading them aloud. (Click here for the full conversation agreements.)
Optional: a participant can keep track of time and gently let people know when their time has elapsed.
Each participant can take 1-2 minutes to answer one of these questions:
Take ~2 minutes each to answer a question below without interruption or crosstalk. After everyone has answered, the group may take a few minutes for clarifying or follow up questions/responses. Continue exploring additional questions as time allows..
Take 2 minutes to answer one of the following questions: