THE RESTORATIVE POWER OF LOVE

During our recent CYS event, we were grateful to be joined by Lynn Williams and John Johnson who shared about their experience participating in a restorative justice process – Ms. Williams represented the harmed party and Mr. Johnson represented the responsible party.   

As they began their reflection, Ms. Williams explained how it all started, “so, it was the beginning of our healing process. I didn't know this was called ‘restorative justice’. I just knew that there was a pain in our hearts of losing Elaine. And now I had someone talk to you about it. And it was the person who was responsible for killing her.”  

Mr. Johnson and Ms. Williams came together in a restorative justice process called Victim Offender Dialogue, which is a process where “the victim of a crime, or the surviving family members, and the offender who committed the offense meet face-to face in a safe and secure setting.” (1)  

They explained that they “wrote letters back and forth. We talked on the phone” and they got a sense of one another over two years this way. Through this, “we established a real honest relationship.”  

After initial correspondence, Ms. Williams and Mr. Johnson met for the first time in person, which is where Ms. Williams explained that Mr. Johnson “hugged me and he kept saying to me in tears, forgive me, forgive me, forgive me, forgive me, forgive me. I had to turn to John and said to him, you have to first forgive yourself.”  

Through this very vulnerable process, Ms. Williams and Mr. Johnson were able to cultivate a strong sense of trust, and from that trust, heal. Ms. Williams reflected that Mr. Johnson “trusted me enough that our conversations helped him delve into his background as a child and the trauma he had. He shared stuff with me that he never shared with anybody. And so, this in some ways was very cathartic for both of us.”  

As the discussion came to a close, Ms. Williams concluded on the importance of “the restorative power of love, the restorative power of acceptance, that of forgiveness, and that of partnering in healing both our hearts.”  

Ms. Williams and Mr. Johnson represent a whole community of people – both individuals who have caused harm and have been harmed – who have found repair, healing, and growth through restorative justice. As you see with Ms. Williams and Mr. Johnson, restorative justice gives the harmed party a place to be heard and to express what they need in order to heal. Learn more about what restorative justice can look like here.   

See pictures of the whole event by visiting our website: https://www.cys-la.org/safetystartswithus.