How our work changes us: Reflecting on a career as a defense victims outreach specialist and the application of restorative justice

DOIhttp://doi.org/10.1002/crq.21207
AuthorJonathan Taylor Downs,Adriana Helenek
Published date01 March 2018
Date01 March 2018
RESEARCH ARTICLE
How our work changes us: Reflecting on a career as
a defense victims outreach specialist and the
application of restorative justice
Adriana Helenek
1
| Jonathan Taylor Downs
2
1
Bi National Group Inc
2
School of Conflict Management, Peacebuilding
and Development, Kennesaw State University
Correspondence
Jonathan Taylor Downs, School of Conflict
Management, Peacebuilding and Development,
Kennesaw State University.
Email: jdowns8@kennesaw.edu
Restorative justice emphasizes the restoration of relation-
ships and has many potential applications in everyday
life. Drawing on my experience as a practitioner of restor-
ative justice in my role as a defense victims outreach spe-
cialist, this article reflects on my jobs impact on my life
at home and in the community. Finally, I explore the
potential for the use of restorative justice in settings out-
side of the workplace.
The practice of restorative justice has been on the rise in the United States over the past several
decades. As a defense victims outreach (DIVO) specialist in capital cases for the past twelve years, I
have witnessed the increase in its application in criminal cases. Over that period of time, I worked
with victims and offenders ranging from cases of relatively minor crimes to those involving the
death penalty. This time as a practitioner has heavily impacted how I perceive the world around me
and how I interact with my family, my community, and society at large. A significant part of my
work involves seeing and working with people experiencing intense pain and suffering. This expo-
sure and my ability to help alleviate these feelings impact many aspects of my life, in both positive
and negative ways.
Paul (2015) defines restorative justice as a theory of justice that emphasizes the restoration of
individuals, relationships, and communities following behavior perceived as harmful, offensive, or
problematic(p. 100). After spending the past twelve years utilizing restorative justice as a DIVO
specialist in capital cases, I have come to believe that it is a philosophy that can be applied in
many different situations and contexts, where the practitioner focuses on taking care of the feel-
ings, the thoughts, and the way people are living and interacting with one another in their every-
day lives. No matter the field, if a practitioner of restorative justice does not concentrate on these
essential factors, then they will fail in their work. The conversation around restorative justice and
its practice in Conflict Resolution Quarterly reflects this wide range of applications for practi-
tioners. Several recent articles covered victim-offender conferences, looking at both the context of
the meetings and the facilitators perceptions of justice during the dialogue process (Paul and
Received: 18 May 2017 Revised: 2 July 2017 Accepted: 10 July 2017
DOI: 10.1002/crq.21207
© 2017 Association for Conflict Resolution and Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Conflict Resolution Quarterly. 2018;35:295300. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/crq 295

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