Restorative Justice – Class Activity – Extra Credit
2.16.18
Directions: Provide 2-3 fill sentence responses to the below questions and submit them via the designated D2l drop box under “assignments” to earn 10 extra credit points toward exam #1.
Jake’s Story:
I’m Jake. I’m 15 years old and have never been in any trouble before. In fact, I’ve been on the honor roll all through high school. But now I’m really in trouble. It all started out as fun. We were drinking beer and hanging around the school at night. We never got caught.
I don’t know why I did it, but on a dare from a friend, I borrowed my sister-in-law’s car. You see, I knew she always kept the keys on the fridge.
Right now, I wish they weren’t there that day. I was driving and had three buddies in the car with me. We drank a full six pack and still had the empty bottles in the car. Anyway, I guess I’m not the greatest driver and the road was icy. I accidentally went up over a curb and hit an old lady, Mrs. McGee. Geez, she’s my grandma’s age, 72, and I hurt her bad!
The police and ambulance showed up and I was arrested. I was charged with drunk driving and aggravated assault. What a mess for me and my family. I’m really sorry about the old lady.
Turns out she knows all my aunties. She hurt her back. She’s out of the hospital now. I’m really sorry. I’ll never do any drinking and joy-riding again.
Jake was tried in juvenile. He pled guilty to drunk driving and aggravated assault. The judge agreed that the community should be involved in advising on what Jake’s sentence should be. Jake will take part in a restorative justice meeting.
- Who do you think should take part in this meeting? Explain.
- Choose which character you would like to be. Decide from that character’s point of view, what consequences Jake should face for his actions? Why?
- Are there any limitations to the potential effectiveness of this punishment(s)? Explain.