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Calvin News

Calvin Prison Initiative students lead restorative justice conference

Mon, Nov 26, 2018
Jacquelyn Hubbard

North America holds about 5% of the world鈥檚 population and 25% of its incarcerated population. Its prison population has increased 800% in the past 40 years. And Michigan prisoners will typically serve 120% of their minimum sentence.

Those stats call for action. And a population of students in the Calvin Prison Initiative (CPI) program are helping facilitate some important conversations related to these statistics from behind bars.

鈥淚nner transformation is key to radical reconciliation, and ultimately restorative justice. We hope that as more people come to see the humanity and values of these forgotten men and women, the willingness to discard people will end.鈥

Jamie Sturdevant, a student at Calvin鈥檚 Handlon Prison campus, spoke this collective hope on behalf of the CPI students who organized and led the second annual West Michigan Restorative Justice Conference. The theme of the October 13 conference was 鈥Hope, Healing, and Radical Reconciliation.鈥

Leading from inside the fences

Throughout the conference, CPI students introduced speakers, explained restorative justice, and sang original pieces via pre-recorded videos. The Handlon Tabernacle Choir began the conference in song and then proceeded to define restorative justice.

CPI student Shawn England described how restorative justice is focused on relationship-building, not punishment. 鈥淩econciliation requires more than leaving places of power for periodic visits to communities of oppressed people,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t means building ongoing relationships with many persons from marginalized communities and engaging in those relationships for the duration of our lives.鈥

鈥淭he road to healing and reconciliation is never easy; it requires humility and courage,鈥 CPI student Aaron Wadsworth added. 鈥淲e are all called to walk this road, but we do not walk the road alone.鈥

Restorative justice speakers

The student organizers introduced conference speakers from various backgrounds and experiences with restorative justice. Calvin alumnus and former professor Nicholas Wolterstorff argued that restorative justice must focus on healing the breach between personal relationships rather than providing a consequence for a harm. 鈥淎ren鈥檛 persons more important than laws? Aren鈥檛 laws for the sake of persons?鈥 Wolterstorff challenged.

Father David Kelly, the director of Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation, followed Wolterstorff by encouraging others to become more proximate to those affected by injustice. 鈥淲e have to be willing to go in and touch the woundedness of one another,鈥 Kelly said. 鈥淎s a church, we ought to be living in the Holy Saturday moment鈥攖o embrace the hurt and pain of the crucifixion, and yet give witness to the resurrection.鈥

After offering statistics on the history of American incarceration, writer and speaker Dominique Gilliard spoke on America鈥檚 historic, concealed imprisonment system: convict leasing. 鈥淲e are addicted to punitiveness and we have understood it as justice. As Christians, we cannot accept that definition of justice because it is morally bankrupt,鈥 Gilliard said.

State representative and Calvin alumnus David LaGrand then provided an inside look at Michigan鈥檚 criminal justice landscape and specific legislative areas for reform. He argued that the church has a crucial role to play in this pursuit. 鈥淲e need to focus on who is hurt and how we can heal who is hurt,鈥 LaGrand said.

Jerline Riley then spoke about losing her son in February 1994 at the hands of a CPI student. She described the long reconciliation process between herself and the student, and how she now views him as a son. 鈥淚 see him moving forward and doing great things with his life, because that鈥檚 what God raises us up for,鈥 Riley said. 鈥淪eventy times seven鈥攖hat鈥檚 how I feel about life. I hope I play a role in him coming home someday. I am a wounded healer, and I want God to use my story to plant seeds.鈥

Hope College professor and Calvin alumnus Charlotte Van-Oyen Witvliet concluded the conference by speaking on the dehumanization of the incarcerated and the power of forgiveness. 鈥淲e cannot confuse an image bearer of God with the wrongdoing of which they are responsible,鈥 Van-Oyen Witvliet said. 鈥淭his person needs to undergo positive transformation; that transformation helps us pivot away from desiring that person鈥檚 destruction.鈥

Restorative Justice Club

The conference was made possible by Handlon鈥檚 Restorative Justice Club, which meets biweekly to learn about how to become part of the movement toward a more personable and just society. Professors Thomas R. Thompson and Matthew Walhout have been the club鈥檚 faculty mentors since the club鈥檚 inception in Fall 2017. 鈥淭he club鈥檚 members and leadership are highly self-motivated and self-facilitating. We receive much more than we give, but we do provide some administrative legs on the outside of the facility,鈥 Thompson said.

According to Thompson, the Restorative Justice Club members would like the conference venue to vary institutionally and ecumenically throughout the coming years to achieve greater awareness and participation in the restorative justice movement. In March 2017, the first West Michigan Restorative Justice Conference took place at Hope College.

Currently, efforts are being made to launch a chapter of the Restorative Justice Club on Calvin鈥檚 main campus, which would interact and coordinate with the CPI chapter鈥檚 interests and efforts.