Reference no: EM133365775

Case Study

Perhaps one of the most powerful examples of restorative justice is the McBride case, in which a restorative justice program was used to facilitate dialogue in a murder case in Florida. In 2010, Conor McBride shot to death his girlfriend, Ann Grosmaire. Both were 19 years old and had been in a relationship for three years. When the Gros maire family heard the devastating news and went to the hospital, Ann was on the verge of death but kept asking for forgiveness for Conor. Even though the Grosmaires had a good relationship with Conor prior to the incident, they were unwilling to forgive him. Things started to change when they learned that Cornor would receive at least a life sentence in prison for first-degree murder. The Grosmaires did not want to keep Conor in prison for the rest of his life and learned about an alternative way to handle the case, which was a restorative justice program. Yet, in Florida, the program had never been used for such a serious crime.

Both the McBrides and the Grosmaires continued to support each other through the difficult time and advocated to make the restorative justice meeting happen. Then, a little more than one year after the incident, a restorative justice program became a reality. The sessions took place in a similar format as a usual victim-offender mediation, with the only difference being that attorneys were present with both parties. Both parties expressed how the incident had affected them and Conor told

his story and explained how it happened. Conor admitted he had temper issues. It was hard for both the Grosmaires and the McBrides to accept that it was not an accident but rather that Conor had lost his mind at that time, picked up the gun, and shot at Ann. The Grosmaires and the McBrides reached an agreement that 10 to 15 years in prison would be appropriate for him. Two weeks later, the Leon County assistant state attorney, Jack Camp-bell, who handles high-prole murder cases, gave Conor a choice between 25 vears ot imprisonment or 20 years of imprisonment plus 10 years of pro-bation. Conor chose the latter.

Forgiveness played an important role in the process. the Grosmaires said they did not forgive Conor for his sake but tor their own. "Forgive-ness tor me was self-preservation," Kate Gros-maire said (Tullis. 2013). Forgiveness also helped conor not only tor reducing his sentence but also because, with the Grosmaires' forgiveness. he could accept responsibility and not be con-demned. Yet. Kate Grosmaire notes that lorgiving him does not change the tact that her daughter is no longer with them

Discussion:

Do you agree or disagree that restorative justice programs should be used for violent crimes such as murder, robbery, and rape ?