Forgiving the Unforgivable: Restorative Justice

Forgiving the Unforgivable: Restorative Justice
This is a 1999 feature story I produced for Mosaic, the video magazine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.  We recorded the story in Mitchell, South Dakota, Restorative justice was an emerging concept in American criminal justice and the faith-based advocates who supported it.  Restorative Justice sheds light on the rights of victims, their families the offender and the community they live in. We meet the parents of a South Dakota man who as gunned down by his roommate. In prison, the offender reached out to his victim’s parents and asked for forgiveness. With the help of the church, they were able to grant forgiveness. Jim Parks edited the story and created the original music tracks.