Six years ago I was privileged to be part of the team that set up Prison Fellowship's Sycamore Tree Programme in a large London prison . Next week we begin the final (for the time being) course as the new NOMS Strategy for London prisons (to be principally for remand and short term prisoners) is brought in resulting in the closure of a number of programmes including Sycamore Tree. Sycamore Tree runs across the world and explains the concepts of Restorative Justice and explores the impact of crime on victims with groups of offenders.
Names have all been changed for obvious reasons and this blog is being posted after the event.

Friday 20 May 2011

Sycamore Tree week 4


I am sure the rule for blog writing is to keep it as short as possible ….apologies! You will have to accept this one as a reflective diary.

Since last week’s session I have assessed the first part of the men’s work books: they are mostly fine – a few areas that need a little more effort but lots to be encouraged by and lots to encourage them with.  At the start of the session they spend time in their groups looking through my comments and filling in gaps where necessary and this allows me to catch up with a couple I need to see: Frank who is able to read but with limited ability to write needs some support but is clearly on top of the course material despite his difficulties – I think how much more he would have on offer to him if he could crack the literacy issues….at the end of this afternoon’s session Frank’s small group leader says that Frank has told the group that he was born in prison, that both his parents were criminals in addition to a brother I had met on a previous course: what chance does a child born into such circumstances have? Undoubtedly Frank has made poor choices …..will he be able to make better ones now and create a stable life when he leaves prison?
I also talk to Fred who has chosen to write at some length about a particularly unpleasant case that has been in the press in the last couple of weeks involving the murder by a father of children in an attempt to get revenge on a former wife.  I ask Fred why he chose such an unusual and emotive case….I have encouraged all the men to write about themselves whenever possible and this seems to be a case of Fred wanting to avoid the issue.  We have a chat away from the group: it is clear Fred is embarrassed at his crime, had not been in trouble before, regrets what he has done and the shame he has bought on his hardworking and law abiding family and can’t bear to write about what happened.  I assure him I understand but that it is an important part of his process of moving on also to be able to recognise fully what he has done and also to be able to forgive himself for what he has done: I remind him of Ray’s words in week 3.  He is going to think about how to do more on his own situation and I try to encourage him that, perverse though it may sound, I think it is in fact a good thing he feels the way he does now but that he needs to allow himself to make plans for moving on and making amends: tears well up in Fred’s eyes…..

We talk as a whole group around thoughts arsing from week 3 and what has stayed with the men after hearing from Ann and Ray and Vi: they are all very moved by the experience – comments such as “it has really stayed with me” and “I was blown away by their attitude and how they have forgiven”.  I read them a letter published in a newspaper in November last year by the victim of a car jacking.  The incident had deprived her of her car, bags, Christmas presents but more importantly the opportunity to say goodbye to her father who had died later that day but because she had to spend the day with police sorting out the crime and had lost her mobile the nursing staff looking after her seriously ill father had not been able to call to let her know that he had taken a turn for the worse.   When she called the next morning she learnt he had died that night.  No robber could have foreseen that and of course there are many things that can’t be foreseen…The men go to their group s to reflect on their own victims and the harm they caused to them.  We also ask them to think about what they could do to restore those affected. 
One of the recurrent themes of the stories we have been looking at so far, has been that victims want offenders to make amends by sorting out their lives, dealing with the problems they have battled with.  The same is true in the film about the reconciliation of Steven an armed robber and Billy the police man he shot back in the early 1980s. Steven was convicted of attempted murder and Billy, a Christian sent him a Christmas card as a first step to building bridges with Steven and wanting to forgive him.  The two met, and have over the years become friends.  Now since Steven’s release they work together on crime prevention projects and talking in schools – the remarkable idea of a robber who nearly killed a police man and the police man becoming friends is not lost on the group.  As a model of the impact of forgiveness it is another remarkable story.  

What Billy, and indeed Peter Woolf, have shown in how they responded to the encounters each had with their victim was a decision to live life differently – a repentance for past wrongs based on taking responsibility.  More than a passing regret or remorse which can be a negative emotion, but a positive choice to live life walking in a new direction – turning away from past behaviours? Acting out their “sorry” in how they live their lives.  Demonstrating in how you live that you have had a change of heart….as Zac did in response to his encounter with Jesus.

In the second half of the afternoon prompted by a film clip examining RJ approaches  in the US we have an interesting discussion again about community service. Billy, who is keen to talk about his experiences, says that to make it effective he would need to feel that people affected by his crime might be involved and he would like to earn money so that he could pay back a earn for his family too – all ideas in the Green Paper.   

So how does this become real for the men? We have expounded on a theory but they are in prison and unlikely in practice to be able to meet the victims of their crimes.  Last week we had talked about confession: honesty and taking personal responsibility: it has to be the first step.  From a position of honesty and taking responsibility comes a choice to make changes in life (we talk of that as repentance). In order to demonstrate that repentance the offender try to make amends – taking a practical step to make restitution to those affected by his offending behaviour , and that can lead to reconciliation,  personal and relational healing, allowing  broken and damaged lives to be restored ; healing for victims, community and offenders.  Into that potent and powerful process fits the question of forgiveness: it might be extraordinary forgiveness like that demonstrated by Ray and Vi, or it might be forgiveness granted following an offender’s repentance, and it might of course be an offender learning to forgive himself.

In the final week of the course the men will have the opportunity to take a first step to making amends…….more on that next week.

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