SAN QUENTIN — Deep inside this infamous old prison, Patty O'Reilly stands before eight men doing hard time, her shoulders slumped, a man's gold wedding band hanging from a chain around her neck.
Three of the inmates are sobbing. The others sit motionless on metal chairs, eyes locked on the small, sad woman in front of them.
O'Reilly's words seep out. A ballet teacher from Sonoma, she has come to San Quentin to share a story -- about the killing of a husband and the trauma caused by that loss.
She tells of two daughters left fatherless, of a widow, not yet 40, paralyzed by grief. Weeping now, O'Reilly describes happy futures shredded in an instant by one man's single, terrible act.
But she also talks of the unlikely journey that has led her through the gates of San Quentin, to face this group of veteran cons. They can't believe she's come. But to hear her tell it, O'Reilly really had no choice.
Her path is being followed by a rising number of crime victims and survivors. Despite ever-tougher sentences and the world's highest incarceration rate, many victims feel the nation's traditional method of meting out justice comes up short. Anguished and unable to heal, they are finding strength through an alternative philosophy called restorative justice.
Inspired by ancient tribal traditions and biblical teachings, restorative justice aims to achieve accountability for crimes in a direct, tangible way -- rather than simply through "symbolic" penalties imposed by the state. As supporters see it, offenders must understand that their crimes were not some abstract violation of law, but a harm inflicted upon real people who need a chance to be made whole again.
In perhaps its purest expression, restorative justice occurs through mediated, face-to-face encounters between victim (or surviving relatives) and offender. Victims chronicle their pain, ask nagging questions, speak their piece. Offenders, in turn, confront the extent of the human damage they caused, apologize and agree -- often in a written contract -- to make amends.
Through the process, both sides -- as well as the community damaged by the crime -- theoretically are "restored."
"The criminal justice system tends to say, 'OK, we've punished the guy, \o7sayonara\f7,' " said Todd R. Clear, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. "But while punishment is important, many victims feel it's not enough. They need closure. They need to hear why he did it and see some kind of indication that the offender gets it. Restorative justice offers them that."
