Restorative Justice Can Offer Answers and Healing in the Wake of Random Acts of Violence
written by Mika Dashman, Founding Director, RJI
The New York Times recently published a story about two Brooklynites (Domingo Tapia and Gary Anderson) and their families* who were linked by an unexplained act of violence. At a time when random acts of violence in New York City’s streets and subways are making headlines and having an outsized influence on politics, this story illustrates how the criminal justice system rarely meets the needs of crime victims, while it inflicts further harm in the name of accountability. Restorative justice is a process that can achieve both accountability and healing in the wake of violence, but it is underutilized in New York City, despite the existence of several successful programs and many skilled practitioners.
Here are the facts, as reported by the Times: Mr. Anderson was arrested and charged with punching Mr. Tapia as he rode his bike through Bed-Stuy in the early morning hours in June 2017. The blow knocked Mr. Tapia to the ground, resulting in serious head injuries. Mr. Tapia spent 7 years in a coma and subsequently died from his injuries. While Mr. Tapia was hospitalized, Mr. Anderson pleaded guilty and served 3 years in prison. But after Mr. Tapia’s death was ruled a homicide, Mr. Anderson was newly indicted for manslaughter, and he is now facing additional prison time.
Mr. Tapia left behind a wife and two children. Mr. Anderson has 3 daughters. Although he did not provide an interview for the story, court records indicate that Mr. Anderson’s life did not improve after his first stint in prison (indeed, people’s lives rarely do). Although Mr. Tapia’s wife is quoted in the article as saying that she wants Mr. Anderson to “feel that pain” of prison, whatever further punishment the system assigns to Mr. Anderson, it will not bring Mr. Tapia back to life, nor will it meet the needs of his struggling family. It is also unlikely to lead to an answer to the question that has hung over both families since that fateful night in 2017, “Why did he do it?”
While there’s no process that can undo this loss of life and the extended absences of two fathers from their children’s lives, there is a process that could potentially yield an answer to that question and others such as, what circumstances in Mr. Anderson’s life led him to deliver a blow to a stranger? “What has he thought about since?” How has he attempted to turn his life around, and what barriers has he faced?”
Restorative justice dialogue, also known as victim offender dialogue, provides an opportunity for people impacted by crime (or noncriminalized forms of harm) to seek answers from the only person who can truly provide them, about what happened and why. And the process provides an opportunity for the person responsible for the harm to express remorse and to make amends in ways that are meaningful to the victims.
To date, restorative justice programming in NYC has received far less funding than the criminal justice system. But evidence within and beyond NYC suggests that these restorative approaches are effective in preventing interpersonal harm and addressing the needs of everyone impacted when harm does occur. Conversely, criminal justice policies and practices cause a great deal of harm to individuals and communities, despite a dearth of conclusive evidence that they actually prevent harm. NYC must invest substantially more resources in restorative approaches, thus allowing community-based organizations and city agencies to build capacity to hold these practices with fidelity and care, and to collect the data to support more sustained investment.
*The writer is a Brooklynite, but otherwise has no direct connection to either of the men featured in this story or to their families.