Tue 8/20/13 Noon & 7pm If a teenager is caught for knocking over a gravestone, she'll probably be charged with vandalism and put on 9 months probation. Does that punishment fit the crime? Does it do anything for the families whose gravestones were desecrated? Will that teenager now be a better member of society? In this state, there is another option: restorative justice. Vermont has a network of 17 community justice centers which bring offenders and their victims together with community volunteers to work out their own justice.
We'll talk to Karen Vastine, director of the Burlington Community Justice Center, and John Perry, former Director of Planning for the Department of Corrections, to learn more about restorative justice in Vermont.
