Justice Voices
Ep. 16 - Lisa Daniels: A mother who forgave her son's killer and lives restorative justice
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Lisa Daniels is a mother who found healing in forgiving her son’s killer. She now heads the Darren B. Easterling Center for Restorative Practices, named after her deceased son. She lives the teachings about forgiveness that Jesus taught in his Sermon on the Mount and embodies the principles of restorative justice.
In addition to sharing her story of forgiveness, Lisa tells describes her first-hand experience with a criminal justice system in which the interests and views of victims are often overlooked or given little real consideration, even by those claiming to be seeking a vindictive form of justice on their behalf.
Far from being a starry-eyed idealist, Lisa is a clear-eyed realist, as a result of both her own lived experience and from serving until recently as a member of the Illinois Prisoner Review Board, reviewing applications from people in prison seeking relief from very long sentences for very serious crimes.
In the latter part of this episode, after sharing her story, Lisa explains the basic principles of restorative justice that came to be at the center of her heart and her work.
If you are pressed for time, please listen to the short video of highlights on the Justice Voices YouTube channel. After that, you’ll probably be back here to listen to all of what Lisa shares about her story and to join with the two of us as we discuss true justice as healing – for victims of crime, for offenders, and for their communities.
Then, please share Lisa’s message with others by posting a link from the Justice Voices website at justicevoices.org, or our YouTube channel, on your social media. And subscribe to this podcast.
And, if you yourself are a victim of crime, you are invited to share your own story and your views about justice for victims on the Victim Voices Facebook page or on the Victim Voices community page on the new social media platform of Ibble, and add the hashtag #victimvoices.
Your voice matters, too, and sharing it can help heal others.