By AVELINO MAESTAS
Daily Press Staff

More than 40 residents and community leaders met Thursday night to discuss restorative justice practices in the area.

The meeting, held at the Western New Mexico University Global Resource Center, focused on efforts among juvenile offenders in Grant County. The Restorative Justice Community Center of Southwestern New Mexico, based in Silver City, sponsored the discussion.

Richard Mansbach, co-coordinator of the center, provided a brief overview of restorative justice to start the meeting. He asked attendees to recall TV courtroom dramas, such as "Matlock" and "Perry Mason."

"What have you noticed happening between the victim and the offender?" he asked.

Mansbach said the answer is a lack of dialogue, which he said makes sense from a legal standpoint. However, Mansbach added, it creates a situation in which the victim may feel silenced, because the victim likely has not had a chance to express his or her self. Restorative justice, as defined by the center, is a "theory of justice that emphasizes repairing the harm caused or revealed by criminal behavior."

Mansbach highlighted three restorative justice practices being used in North America. He said the first, victim-offender mediation, has been around for more than 30 years. The second, community conferencing, is a more recent development, and involves members of the neighborhood along with the victim and offender. The third is a peace-making circle, used by aboriginal communities in Canada.

According to Mansbach, each practice results in lower recidivism — the rate at which offenders repeat crimes — than the traditional criminal justice system. He said there are other benefits, including the impact on the offender.

"One of the major things in restoratives justice is when the offender realizes how much his actions have affected society," Mansbach said.

Stephane Luchini, the center's other co-coordinator, spoke briefly about other restorative justice tenets, before introducing a series of community speakers.

"This really goes back to an old way of doing things, in a good way, of talking about things," Luchini said. "It's a philosophy, and a belief in principles. It's about making things right, and holding people accountable."

Luchini told the audience that restorative justice is "not just an experiment anymore." He said the goal now is to identify best practices, and the different models that worked.

According to Luchini, the models can be tailored to address problems specific to the area.

"If methamphetamine use is a factor in a high number of crimes," Luchini said, "we may have to address that with a specialized approach."

Rebecca Lafleur, Grant County Teen Court executive director, spoke about some of the successes the organization has seen using restorative justice practices.

"In every case," she said, "I would have to say, I've underestimated the power of this process."

Lafleur related a story about two girls who had started a fight at school. She said Teen Court used a circle conference to address the issues surrounding the incident. When finished, she said, each girl thanked the participants, because the adolescents felt they had been heard. Margaret Begay, program manager for juvenile probation office, said she was hesitant to accept restorative justice when the office first began using techniques like community circles.

"I (hadn't) really bought into the system or concept," she said.

According to Begay, her opinion changed when she saw offenders go several years without a repeat offense. She said the process reassured her, because it holds children and parents accountable for their actions.

"When you make it real," Begay said, "and parents have a voice, and families have a voice, and children have a voice, it's very powerful." Begay said her office is working with area schools to incorporate school-based circles.

Bobbie Quinn, a retired La Plata Middle School counselor, said the school created a mediation program in the early 1990s.

"We trained the students as mediators," she said, "and we acted as mentors."

She said it gave the children power, and instilled responsibility.

"We taught the kids to be group leaders," Begay said.

John Bourdette, a WNMU professor, spoke about the impact restorative justice has had on his life, from the perspective of a recovering alcoholic-addict. He said he will mark 25 years of sobriety next week, and that recovery was the hardest thing he's had to do in his life.

"Getting into recovery," Bourdette said, "and staying there, is very difficult. We have these 12 steps, and we hate those suckers initially." He said recovering addicts make a list of all those who were harmed by the addict's actions. He said another step involves apologies to the people on the list. "The second part is: What do I need to do now to restore balance between you and me?"

He said restorative justice gave him an opportunity to restore that balance.

Carlos Provencio, who serves on the center's board of directors, said Grant County is poised to lead the state in developing restorative justice.

"It gives us a great opportunity; we're going to be on the cutting edge of things," he said. "This will give us a model for the rest of the state."

According to Provencio, restorative justice appeals to people at each end of the political spectrum.

"Everybody wins in this process," he said. "Accountability is built in, and there's also compassion for the victims and the offenders."

District Attorney Mary Lynne Newell said restorative justice is not incompatible with the focus of the criminal justice system.

"The whole, overall goal of the criminal justice system is to have people not re-offend," she said. "You can't do that for people who don't have empathy for their victims."

According to Newell, many victims tell her they would like an opportunity to address offenders and ask what the person was thinking when he or she committed a crime.

She said most of the juvenile cases she handles are related to "dumb crimes," where, she said, "people are just doing dumb things." She said restorative justice is playing a role in addressing those issues.

"It's very exciting; it's working," Newell said. "Kids are smart. They're sharp."

District Judge J.C. Robinson said restorative justice is a return to neighborhoods and communities coming together.

"The people I deal with, they don't belong to anything," he said. "They don't have a family. They have absolutely no community. They have no respect for you, and they have no respect for themselves."

He said the program would be a success if it stops one child from becoming a repeat offender. In addition, he said success would come when the residents and neighborhoods became involved in the process.

"We have so many communities within our community," he said. "We have to take this message out of here to these communities."

State Rep. Manuel Herrera said he would work with his colleagues from Grant, Hidalgo and Luna counties to secure funding for the center during the 2007 legislative session.

"What's been said here, I've heard before, and I believe every word of it," he said. "I've seen it work."

James Marshall, Silver City mayor, said his 15 years of experience as a paramedic give a different perspective to "who the victim is."

According to Marshall, restorative justice gives the victim a voice, and allows him or her to be heard.

He then discussed the community's First Born Program and its successes, and focused on its effects on teen parents.

"Think about when you get a car," he said. "You get an owner's manual. These kids don't have the skills to be parents."

Marshall said the program was a good example of how to get back on track. He said residents should involve their neighbors, and make everyone responsible for the community.

David Gershenson, who serves on the Teen Court board of directors, said he has witnessed the power of restorative justice.

"It just seems so logical," Gershenson said. "It seems so true, that to hand out punishment, without handing out understanding, achieves nothing."

He said restorative justice would also have an economic development impact in Grant County. According to Gershenson, prospective residents would look at a lower crime rate, along with other benefits, like museums, libraries and programs offered by organizations like the Mimbres Region Arts Council.

Gary Stailey, head of the juvenile probation office, said Grant County is "far ahead" of other communities in developing restorative justice. He said the juvenile probation office is now using the techniques as an initial response.

"It's our goal, that when we receive a referral," Stailey said, "the first model we'll go for is restorative justice."

He also said the techniques get to root problems, by involving community and family.

"Most juvenile offenders" he said, "are almost always victims themselves. Restorative justice principles reconnect them, or connect them initially, to a caring, principled community."

Curtis Hayes, president of the center's board of directors, said the organization is looking for volunteers and donations. He said the center hopes to raise $250,000 in the next several years to expand its programs beyond juvenile offenders. In addition, residents may participate in conferences as representatives of the community, and training is available to become a mediator.

For more information, or to donate or volunteer, call 534-0336 or visit www.rjnm.org.