Restorative Based Honor Dorm

The W.C. Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Alabama, is a maximum security prison. It houses Alabama's death row. Most of the offenders have very long sentences including sentences of life without parole.

Holman's Faith Based Restorative Justice Honor Dorm has approximately 174 residents who have met the criteria to engage in the dorm's communal responsibilities. They live in the dorm two years in a probationary/ orientation condition. After completing the two year period and curriculum criteria, they become residents in a permanent status. During the probationary period the men are educated in the restorative philosophy on which the entire project and incarcerated residential life is based. To remain in the dorm, residents must be positive, contributing members of this community; they are held accountable by a point system and a relational forum of dialogue as well as corporate circle opportunities.

The restorative justice approach used in the honor dorm attempts to address issues of wrongdoing holistically as a community. The following principles underlie the restorative approach:

• Crime is a violation of people and of interpersonal relationships
• Violations create obligations to repair harm caused by crime
• Community plays a central role in crime resolution

With these basic tenets in mind, it is the intention of the Honor Dorm to engage in restorative practices to influence the offender's worldview, to create a sense of greater accountability in the offender, to meet needs of victims, and to stimulate a larger community awareness through mutual dialogue about origins and outcomes of criminal behavior.

Through classes, reading, and discussion, offenders are encouraged to learn empathy for crime victims and to learn responsible ways to make amends. Offenders also participate in peace-making circles where any conflict, that could be harmful to individuals and members of the dorm community, is addressed and resolved by the inmates themselves. Accountability of this process is maintained with detailed data and narrative files, free-world volunteer participation, and administrative oversight. Information recorded on the residents' daily life include: circle resolutions, outcomes with obligations, classes in which they are participating, and all productive contributions made within the community/ dorm setting. Community activities stress the interdependent nature of society and mutual responsibilities.

My role during the summer months has been to teach a victimology class to a group of approximately 50 offenders and to work with a small group of ten offenders who are doing in depth work related to owning their offenses and understanding the suffering of their victims. In the large class, we look at the field of victimology and how it has developed over time. We address interactions between victim and offender, victim and the criminal justice system, and the victim and society. In the small group we have been reading "Life Talks" of victims of serious crimes, and residents have been reporting on their understanding of these life talks. I am also observing peace making circles and plan to use some of the data for future research.

To read more about the restorative justice approach see, Kay Pranis (2001) "Restorative Justice, Social Justice, and the Empowerment of Marginalized Populations," in G. Bazemore & M. Schifff eds., Restorative and Community Justice: Cultivating Common Ground for Victims, Communities, and Offenders (Cincinnati: Anderson Publishing).

Howard Zehr, Changing Lenses: A New Focus for Crime and Justice (Scottsdale, PA: Herald Press) 1990.

If you have any questions about the honor dorm, please contact me at cswanson@uwf.edu.

Cheryl Swanson Associate Professor Criminal Justice and Legal Studies The University of West Florida

 

Co-Chair of Restorative and Criminal Justice Section