Sigrid Macdonald: Hi, Joyce. Thanks for joining us. Many people know you as a longtime advocate for the wrongly convicted because your son was incarcerated for almost 23 years for a crime that he didn't commit. I'd like to ask you a few questions today about the justice system in general.
Joyce Milgaard: Hi, Sigrid. Yes, I’ve spent many decades fighting on behalf of the wrongly convicted, starting with my son David's case, and moving onto dozens of others. In fact, I was one of the founding members of the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted (http://www.aidwyc.org/), which I would encourage everyone to support.
Sigrid Macdonald: I also belong to AIDWYC and it's a phenomenal organization, but today, instead of focusing on the wrongly convicted, I’d like to ask what you think about the rightly convicted. To begin with, what do you mean by the term restorative justice?
Joyce Milgaard: Restorative justice should provide assistance to both the victim and the offender. I would like to see meetings that were designed to meet both of their needs, and would enable them to understand each other's feelings. This should be an experience that they will learn from, so that it will not happen again. As an example, at the John Howard Society (http://www.johnhoward.ca/), they work with community-based plans where clients complete community service work hours and provide their victims with a letter of apology. Since 1993, 817 clients have also paid over $1,350,000.00 back to their victims. John Howard involves their clients in treatment programs, educational upgrading, or employment searches. Now to me that is restorative justice!
Sigrid Macdonald: Interesting. That reminds me of a restitution program that I worked in back in the late ‘70s, when the emphasis in the penal system clearly was on rehabilitation rather than punishment.
Can you elaborate a bit on what you think is wrong with the justice system today?
Joyce Milgaard: First, the justice system is still rife with wrongful convictions. The system cannot monitor itself; therefore, we need an Independent Review Board to ensure that only those who have actually committed crimes are behind bars. There will not be justice until there is one.
Second, the justice system is overburdened and ineffective. It seems to be just going around in circles. Consequently, it is not producing the end result that we all would like to see -- offenders who are treated humanely, and given access to proper services for addiction and literacy, as well as vocational training. If that were to happen, offenders who have served their time and are released back into society will be happier, healthier, more well-adjusted, and more high-functioning, thus they will be much less likely to reoffend. It's a win-win situation for everybody, both the offenders and the community.
Sigrid Macdonald: So true! Our society seems to have taken a get-tough-on-crime approach, completely forgetting that many, if not most, offenders will be released back into our cities and towns. Having a job and a steady income is one of the key variables to prevent someone from falling back into a previous life of crime or drugs.
Lastly, Joyce, what can people reading this article do to help?
Joyce Milgaard: In Canada or the UK, write to your federal Justice Minister and to your Member of Parliament. In the US, contact your Senator and congressional representatives. Get other people to write, too.
You can volunteer to work with the John Howard Society, Elizabeth Fry (http://www.elizabethfry.ca/caefs_e.htm) or join Americans for Prison Reform (http://my.barackobama.com/page/group/AmericansforPrisonReform).
It's important to involve the community in this effort as well. Talk to your church and consider starting your own group to ensure justice for all.
Sigrid Macdonald: Yes, it's like the old saying, "Think global, act local." We all need to take action to rectify the situation.
Joyce, thanks so much for your time. You’ve provided some important insights, which I'm sure will be very helpful to those who care about prison reform.
Joyce Milgaard: My pleasure. Thanks for having me.
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