Restorative Justice: A Better Way

… these injuries exist on several levels and are experienced by victims, communities, and even offenders. The current policies and practice of criminal justice focus almost entirely on the offender as lawbreaker, filtering out virtually all aspects of crime except questions of legal guilt and punishment.

Van Ness, Daniel W.; Heetderks Strong, Karen. Restoring Justice: An Introduction to Restorative Justice (p. 4). Taylor and Francis. Kindle Edition. 

The current criminal justice system has been called “The King’s Justice” because the way it is set up is that the King (the state) makes the laws and the alleged criminal until proven guity has broken them. The State then exacts a punishment from the offender, “do the crime, do the time” mentality eliminates the victim(s) and the community from the system.

Only in recent decades have “victim rights” been recognized, acknowledged, and made a marginal part of the adversarial winner/loser game that unfolds.

Only since the 70s has another model of justice come to the awareness of the public known as Restorative Justice but it is little known and even less put into practice, but when it has there is evidence that it gets much better outcomes.

Restorative justice is a system of criminal justice that focuses on the rehabilitation of offenders through reconciliation with victims and the community. It’s a different approach from traditional criminal justice, which primarily focuses on punishing the offender. The core idea is that crime harms individuals and communities, and justice should be about repairing that harm. This process often involves a meeting between the victim, the offender, and community members. The offender takes responsibility for their actions, and together, they decide how to best repair the harm done. The goal is to address the needs of the victim, hold the offender accountable, and reintegrate both parties into the community.

I engaged in a restorative process when a three time drunk driver killed two of my children back in 1994.

This is the first of several articles on Restorative Justice, a better way to repair the harms experienced in our communities, states, nation, and world.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower warns Americans about military-industry complex 65 years ago.

President Eisenhower warns Americans against the military-industrial complex in his exit speech on January 17, 1961. We should have listened to him. He was a Republican.

Video lasts 2:30. Click here.

Now we have the military in our country policing its own citizens.

Three things to know about gun mortality

 I have three ideas that I am pursuing about the gun problem in the US.

First, being a New York State resident I am proud of the fact that New York is in the top five states with the lowest gun mortality rates and I am curious about the discrepancies in gun mortality rates in the different states in US. One reason among others that New York has a low gun mortality rate is that New York also has a very low suicide rate, the biggest category of gun deaths is suicide as you probably know. I don't know how knowledgeable the general public is of this fact. The public health data is very clear that the possession of guns is one of the biggest predictors of death by a gun. So owning a gun does not make you safe, it puts you at more risk of death by a gun. This fact is not well known enough and perhaps it would improve the chances of not dying by a gun if more people knew this and didn't own guns.

Second, gun safety laws matter and have a significant impact on gun mortality rates. New York State is a good example of this as well as other states with effective gun safety laws. Perhaps more can be done showing the impact that gun safety laws have on gun mortality.

Third, political campaigns have significant financing by gun manufacturers who buy our politicians to pass laws favorable or not pass laws unfavorable to their business and profit. The end to the gun problem in the US would be to decrease the number of guns among the population and to govern their use as we do with automobiles, airplanes, and chemical substances.

The three big ways gun mortality can be decreased is to change social norms and attitudes about gun possession, decrease access to guns, and improve regulatory enforcement of their possession, storage, and use.

Compare murder rate in San Francisco and Houston

 

The Republicans deal in alternative facts and propaganda. Americans deserve the truth. Social policies do matter and some get better outcomes than others. When it comes to getting murdered in an urban setting, a person would have much lower risk in a blue city like San Francisco as compared to a red city like Houston.

Observing such a huge discrepancy, a thoughtful person might ask why such a difference? There is something much more life preserving and life giving about the culture in San Francisco than in Houston. What is different about the two cultures?

Gun mortality in the US: Who Profits?

President Donald Trump continually says that violent crime is out of control in America’s major cities. While his claims aren’t backed by data, his administration continues to cut funding for the programs and research that helped the country recover from record-high levels of shootings, and helped some of those same major cities reach record-low homicide rates. Under Trump, crucial federal funding to combat America’s gun violence crisis is drying up.

But that doesn’t mean the work to end the crisis has stopped. States, cities, and community members across the country are still taking action to reduce shootings — you just might not hear about it from most news outlets.

Enter The Trajectory, a newsletter about the people, policies, and programs grappling with America’s gun violence epidemic. Sign up to receive stories about the people and communities taking action to reduce gun violence, along with the innovative programs and policies that are making a difference. Because America’s gun violence epidemic will never abate if we focus only on the problem — we have to look at potential solutions, too.

Social policies and social programs matter and can make a difference. New York State has the fourth lowest gun mortality rate in the nation because it has some of the nation's best gun safety laws.

The Republicans are heavily supported by gun and weapons manufacturers in the United States who make money by selling guns. If you want to understand what fuels political campaigns find out who is financing them and who the candidate then is beholden to.

When it comes to gun violence you are far safer living in New York than most other states in the Union.

If we are going to solve the gun mortality problem in the United States we must address the source of the problem which is who is profiting from gun sales and who is shaping policy when it comes to gun safety.

The truth and alternative facts: there is a difference.

One of the first moves in every authoritarian dictator's playbook is to intimidate, suppress, and ultimately destroy the free press.

And that's precisely what the Republicans are doing right now.

Legitimate journalists have been banished from the White House press corps. NPR and PBS have been defunded, with local stations nationwide on the edge of heavy cuts or closure. Trump's FCC has launched a wave of phony investigations into news outlets Trump doesn't like.

In the face of these attacks, too many corporate news outlets have submitted to MAGA control by paying fines, failing to endorse opposition political candidates, and editing stores in line with the MAGA propaganda.

The corporate press's main motive is profit not public service. Most journalists are no longer professionals bound to a code of ethics, but corporate actors who obey the preferences of their handlers or they are fired.

There is an important difference between propaganda and news. Can you tell the difference? As a nation, these skills of critical thinking are rapidly atrophying. What will nurture our democracy, and a high quality society is a return to the truth and a dismissal of what the MAGA folks call "alternative facts."

In these times, it is very important to support the independent media. Who are your favorites?

Comparative costs of policing and housing in DC

 

Follow the money

Since the US Supreme Court ruled in Citizens United in 2010 that a corporation is a person  and has the same free speech rights, a corporation can donate an unlimited amount of money to political campaigns giving them the power to buy politicians who will promote their corporate interests even at the expense of the people the politician is sworn to represent and serve.

Citizens United has allowed the oligarchs to take over the US government. The costs of federal elections doubled in the last decade from $6.5 billion in 2016 to $14.8 billion in 2024. This explosive rise in campaign spending had come from corporations and not from the constituents in the politicians district. In 2024 only 17.6% of campaign money for house races came from the candidates home states, and 27.5% for senate races. This is a stark contrast to 20 years ago when the vast majority of contributions were from local donors whom the politicians were campaigning to serve. (For more click here.)

If citizens are to protect and further nurture democratic processes they need to know who is buying their politicians allegiance. He who pays the fiddler, calls the tune. So the news behind the news is who is funding social policy development and implementation for what interests? In other words, if a student wants to better understand the workings of democracy in the US, follow the money. 

The buying of politicians is such a significant issue for the functioning of our democracy, MarkhamsSlowNews will be reporting on this topic regularly.

What will the climate be like where you live in 60 years?

The University of Maryland has created an interactive map that predicts what the climate will be like in different areas on the planet in 60 years. 

In Rochester, NY where I live it is predicted that in 60 years the summers will average 12 degrees warmer and 2% drier and the winters will be 12 degrees warmer and 20 % wetter. This will mean less snow in the winter and more rain, and more drought in the summer.

To use the interactive map click here.

The World's most endangered animals

 

As the population of homo sapiens grows and affects the ecologies of regions on the earth, other animal species are crowded out. This encroachment and eradication is another characteristic of what is called the "Anthropocene."