He wasn’t referring to offenders, but it’s nonetheless true that those who carry out crimes find it as hard as anyone to apologise and seek forgiveness. Quite often because of that — although he/she may be serving a prison sentence — the offender never really has to front up to the pain and anguish he or she has caused. Victims are left bruised, unsatisfied, and angry. That’s what led to the Sycamore Tree programme. It brings together a panel of six inmates and six victims over eight two-hour sessions. After it was introduced in several prisons in the USA and UK, Wellington’s Arohata Prison was the next to adopt it in 1998. In 2004 and 2005 it will be introduced to eight additional prisons throughout New Zealand.
Sycamore Tree takes its name from the Bible story of Zacchaeus. The crooked tax collector had come to see Jesus, but he was disliked by the crowd and had to climb a sycamore tree to see him. Jesus noticed him and let him know he cared about him. Many in the crowd found that hard to accept; they’d been victims of Zacchaeus’ crimes. But out of the meeting came something unexpected: Zacchaeus agreed to pay back even more than he had stolen. It was a demonstration of the biblical meaning of justice.
Most restorative justice initiatives tend to happen pre-sentence. But as restorative justice is about offenders coming to a proper understanding of the impact of their actions and making atonement, and victims getting the healing that enables them to move on with their lives, something was needed post-sentence as well. “Do the crime, do the time” isn’t always enough.
In the last two three hundred years the judicial system in the western world has changed in that the state has adopted the role of the victim, and exacts penalty on behalf of the victim. The victim has been removed from the formula. What’s ordered by the state system might not suit the victim at all — in fact they often have no say. The punishments can be an end to it for many, but others are left angry, leading to familiar community cries for more punishments, harsher sentences. A lot of the people who are leading the tougher sentencing lobby are victims who have not been healed.
But restorative justice is not a soft option. One of the most difficult things for any human being is to seek forgiveness — or to forgive. Yet it’s not until that happens that people are able to move on and get on with life.
The panels of victims and inmates who meet under the Sycamore Tree programme follow a tested discussion guide, led by a facilitator funded and trained by Prison Fellowship. Prisoners (who don’t have to be Christians but must volunteer for the programme) get the chance — often for the first time — to understand the results of crime on victims and the community, to agree to take responsibility for their actions, and to begin to make amends by taking part in an act of symbolic restitution — perhaps by writing to the personal victim of their crime, admitting guilt and seeking forgiveness. Some go on to do community work in the area where they offended as part of pre-release rehabilitation. Recently a fraudster was driven around to apologise to each of those he had ripped off. Some didn’t want to have a thing to do with him; others said the sincere apology meant something to them. A number of offenders haven’t been motivated to address their offending behaviour until Sycamore Tree. They’ve resisted going on prison programmes — programmes designed to address alcohol and drug addiction, anger and so on. The programme motivates them to take responsibility for their behaviour. It motivates prisoners to change.
Victims get an opportunity to talk about and reflect on the offence committed against them and its results. They explore concepts of repentance, forgiveness and reconciliation, ‘tell their story’ to convicted prisoners, and hear prisoners acknowledge that what they did was wrong. This has helped victims to experience closure and peace. Sycamore Tree victims don’t meet with the actual people who offended against them. But after the programme, if an offender wants to express remorse to his victim, Prison Fellowship can arrange a meeting via the Department of Corrections — if the victim agrees. This requires very careful and sensitive management, with a mediator present.
