Restorative Justice Plank and Initiative Proposal Workshop(May, 2004) Draft 10/15/05

SPONSOR: Green Issues Working Group

PRESENTER CONTACT:  KCM Curry kcmcurry43@yahoo.com, E Green info@green247.org

SUBJECT:

If you are interested in attending this workshop, please RSVP now. Workshop time: at the upcoming plenary, PLease choose: Saturday from 6 to 8 PM, or Sunday from 7 to 9 AM Place: Ventura County GPCA plenary Type: drafting a new initiative. Each year, there are millions of victims of violent crimes in the USA. The Green Party can help restore them and register them Green. Americans of all ages, races, ethnicities, sexual orientations and abilities survive violence. Through violence, most survivors lose homes, careers, quality of life, social support or independence. These disenfranchised survivors need restoration of homes, careers, quality of life, independence and social support. Through a functional court, many of these survivors can get their lives restored to wholeness, those disabled can find new abilities. The Justice Initiative is restorative rather than punitive. It streamlines and empowers the courts to restore survivors and their communities to wholeness, and to empower them to build a peace economy that replaces confrontation with empathy, and masculine solutions with feminine solutions. At worded, this initiative would hire survivors of violence to recruit victims into the restorative justice process. It appropriates $400 billion per year in checks and balances to the judicial branch to restore victims of authority violence (including battered women and victims of hate crimes) to wholeness. It eventually taxes any products and services promoting violence, to cover the cost of violent crime. This initiative needs to be developed into a ballot initiative or into legislation with sponsorship. The current edition may be found at http://www.green247.org/rj.htm.

Thank you, Elisabeth Green, Green Issues co-coordinator

The text of the Initiative is posted at www.green247.org/rj.htm where the legislation supports…
1. the restorative justice process available as a preliminary option in every court in every jurisdiction, initiated at the request of any party to the conflict, through the existing diversionary and Rule 16 processes.

2. full restitution for the disenfranchised uncompensated US citizens who were victimized by authority figures through violent crime committed in the USA. Restitution is made through the Social Security Administration until the case is decided in a Court with a proven unbiased jury.

3. the use of all applicable laws, including the Geneva Conventions and VAWA in the restorative justice process.

4. facilitation of reparations to ensure speedy restorative justice, which commences within a week for all traumatized individuals.

5. a simple restitution application form promoted and available at all libraries and government offices, and immediately processed by the SSA and Courts.

6. investigation with a minimum of intrusion upon the disenfranchised, and conducted only by empathic survivors of like violations.

7. hiring the disenfranchised survivors of violent offenses and other violations to advocate for victims of similar violations, and conduct the restorative justice process.

8. a 40 to 100% tax on the sale and promotion of violence products and services to reflect the true cost of violence.

9. administration of violence-tax funds and any necessary supplemental legislative appropriations by the judiciary:

a. streamlining the justice system to automate the justice and restitution processes by empowering judicial hiring of analysts, outsourcing of complex cases, and modification of Federal and Local Rules;

b. government appropriations balanced among the three branches of government, and requiring every branch for approval. The Senate should either be a judicial or legislative function. If it is legislative, then the body of elected Court officials must have veto power for all appropriations;

c. a judiciary budget for outreach to the disenfranchised to inform them of how to use the restorative justice process;

d. judiciary recruiters throughout the USA to encourage all parties to any conflict to engage in the restorative justice process;

e. reparations for individuals in the amounts reported as average costs by the Bureau of Justice Statistics and other publications of scientific research, as ordered by the Court to restore heath, career, home, family and social support with a minimum of aggravated damages.

10. administration of funds by the Social Security Administration through distribution of restitution to the disenfranchised citizens, starting within a week of any traumatic violence committed by authority figures:

DEFINITIONS: A violence product
  1. contains any trace of violence, without redeeming value. Example: cops and robbers portrayed as a game; or,
  2. depicts violence without punishment. Example: virtual child pornography.
An anti-violence product contains redeeming value. Example: self-defense video.
Redeeming value requires:
  1. depiction of the pain, punishment, penance or other adverse effect of the use of violence;
  2. a constant message that the violence is in error, unethical, inappropriate, criminal or harmful; and,
  3. emphasis on the immorality, unsuitability, crime, harm and error of the violence.

All involved in the conflict take each of the steps of the restorative justice process.
Tell the story.
Acknowledge the violation.
Apology, offer and acceptance.
Reparation, offer and acceptance.
Forgiveness.
Reconciliation with the community.
Optional steps - Reconcile with a higher power and/or with each other.

REFERENCES:  More info at http://green247.org/rj.htm  

COMMITTEE DECISION:
First, this proposal was posted as a set of platform amendments at http://www.cagreens.org/platformsc
In May of 2004, it was posted on the platform committee listserv.
In April of 2004, it was posted on the Women’s Caucus listserv.
It was presented, as much as possible, to the standing platform committee at the Ventura plenary in 2004.
At the May, 2005, plenary in Sylmar, an at the October, 2005, teleconference, the Green Issues Working Group approved it for presentation to the General Assembly at the upcoming plenary.
Intergroup Liaison Paul Encimer brought no specific concern from GROW or other group.
It was submitted on time with GIWG sponsorship to the Agenda Team on October 8 and 15, 2005.

TIME LINE: Total Floor time request - 60 minutes without the workshop, or 40 minutes with the workshop www.green247.org/mediation.htm
A.  Presentation and Proposal (20 minutes without the workshop, or 10 minutes with the workshop)
  1.   Description of the initiative for the ballot: (1 to 10 min)
  2.   (1 min) The GPCA shall sponsor presentations at conferences with the goal of creating alliances with
   a.) justice workers (Department of Justice, mediators, One judge conducts the restorative justice process, etc.)
    b.) uncompensated victims of violent crime (domestic violence shelters, etc.)
    c.) public-interest groups (Black Cops Against Police Brutality http://www.b-cap.org, etc.)
    d.) research groups (Association for Criminal Justice Research www.acjrca.org, etc.)
    e.) peace-and-justice groups (Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace www.icujp.org has promoted this concept)
    f.) progressive faith-based groups (Sojourners, Quaker Society of Friends has promoted this concept, Los Angeles Archdiocese has promoted this concept)
    g.) healing retreat centers (La Casa de las Madres and Immaculate Heart Center has promoted this concept)
    h.) peace economy groups (National Association of Investors Corporation http://www.betterinvesting.org, solari circles http://www.solari.com, etc.)
for the purpose of circulating, and passing, at the ballot, a statewide initiative to move government administration in the direction of healing and reconciliation, and to include provision of alternative justice systems in all courtrooms.
  3. Schedule a meeting of volunteers and activists to coordinate the gathering of signatures for 2008 ballot qualification: (1 min) The GPCA’s contribution to the restorative justice alliance shall be the responsibility for gathering approximately 600,000 signatures and doing the necessary fundraising consistent with the signature gathering task.(i.e. approximately $250,000 in 2007)
  4. Initiative Provisions (1 to 2 min)
    a.) - Statistics on Tax Savings; Reduction in Violent Crime and Recidivism; Government Accountability, Checks and Balances; Recovery of Losses and Damages
    b.) - Potential for Recovery of the Peace Economy and Balanced Budget
    c.) - The timeline for Allies Conference, Initiative Development, encoding the legislation, submission to Secretary of State, Congress or Senate, signature gathering, etc.
  5. Scheduling the future alliance conferences (1 min) - Speakers, Media, Participants, Venue, Date
  6. Summary of GPCA Role (1 to 2 min) - Signature gathering, how the volunteer effort would be structured, County/Local participation
  7. Presentation of opportunities for Grassroots Organizing (1 min) - Outreach, registration and recruiting for activities and campaigns
  8. Presentation of Fundraising Plan (1 min) - Possible strategy for raising $250,000 (from Time Line item 3)
  7. Presentation of ways to engage the media (1 min) – Putting the GPCA on the front page
  9. Presentation of Comprehensive Campaign Coordination (1 min) - How the Restorative Justice Initiative campaign dovetails with other candidate and initiative campaigns the GPCA sponsors or endorses
B. Discussion and Decision (40 minutes without the workshop, or 30 minutes with the workshop)

RESOURCES:  Violent criminals in the USA injure 6 million Americans per year. We want to reach all of the thus disenfranchised citizens. We want to help heal the violent, and restore the victims and communities. We want their signatures on the initiative, and their enthused registration with the Green Party. We may need six alliance liaison personnel.

Allies may meet in person, online or over the phone whenever needed. Please join the 6 Alliance Liaison Volunteers from the May 2005 plenary in coordinating speaker presentations and the gathering of signatures.

Finances (from Time Line item 3) of stipends for each Green Party Alliance Liaison Volunteer should cover expenses including copying, phone calls, email processing, signature gathering coordination and transportation, speaker fees, legislative research, letter-writing in correspondence with the Secretary of State, etc., postage and secure storage/office space for materials.

Placing this proposal immediately after the workshop www.green247.org/mediation.htm will facilitate delegate association of the sample restorative justice process with the proposal. Placing this proposal immediately before or after the health platform amendments planned for the plenary will allow Greens interested only in health issues to attend all without making two trips.

Need a large screen at least 6’x6’ and overhead projector, or warning of none so that handouts can be prepared.

Need compensation for travel and accommodations for the presenters approved 3 weeks prior to the plenary, if possible.

This proposal should generate some media attention to GPCA, so all journalists are welcome, but must get permission in writing before taking any photograph of anyone.