Stories

Marlee’s Story
Marlee was the first person in North America to get access through the courts to Restorative Justice for sexual violence, after being raped in 2016. The restorative process took her from feeling voiceless and disempowered after the court process, to feeling empowered, relieved and hopeful.

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Lucy’s story
Seven years after he committed a violent attack on her, Lucy met her ex-partner in a restorative meeting. This meeting gave Lucy the chance to gain closure and move on with her life.

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Lisa’s Story
Lisa was walking home from her shift as a nurse when she was attacked by two young people who stole her phone. She later met them in a restorative meeting that was able to give her the closure she needed. Both the young people had English as an Additional Language, so an interpreter was present to translate between Lisa, the young people, and their families during the conference.

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Kate’s Story
Kate Morgan’s daughter, Lona, died after her friend Ian Edwards lost control of the car they were travelling in. He was found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving and was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison. “I was pleased that he’d got some sort of punishment but the length of the prison term didn’t matter to me. Twelve days or twelve years, it wouldn’t bring Lona back. Over the next few weeks I realised I still had questions I wanted answers to.”

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John’s Story
John Mcgowan is the head porter at Durham Cathedral. He lives on site. One night in November 2013 he became aware of noise on the roof of the Chapter House. He went to investigate and saw that four people had climbed up some scaffolding and were putting themselves in much danger as the roof is very high and there is a steep drop into the river at one side.

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Janika’s Story
Janika suffered a violent knife attack at the hands of her former partner. He was convicted for attempted murder and remains in prison. She said, “Taking part in restorative justice was the key that unlocked the door to my future.”

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