Click here to join us for a conversation with panelists Roslyn Harmon, Executive Director of the Dispute Resolution Center, Linsey McMurrin, Prevention Specialist from Peacemaker Resources, and Howard Vogel, Professor Emeritus of Mitchell Hamline.

There are currently over two million people incarcerated and detained in the United States. Those behind bars are disproportionately Black and Brown and have lower income and education levels than other adults their same age. This system of mass incarceration and surveillance costs the United States taxpayers upwards of $80 billion per year—a figure that does not include the significant costs to families and friends who have a loved one who is incarcerated. It also frequently fails victims with lengthy and public court proceedings and punishments that do not provide remedy to those harmed.

Is this what justice should look like?

This panel will explore the fundamentals of restorative justice practice in criminal law. Panelists will describe how alternative methods for securing justice can both prevent crime and build a stronger community by determining harm, centering repair and healing for victims, and holding the people who commit crimes accountable to their community. 

This panel is co-sponsored by the Mitchell Hamline Alternative Dispute Resolution Society. A special thank you to the ADR Society President Adrienne Bryant and Vice President Matt Bolt for their dedication to and vision for this important conversation.