Red Shoulder Hawk

Red Shoulder Hawk

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Johannes Mehserle and Restorative Justice

I talked really briefly with Giles about the whole Oscar Grant, Johannes Mehserle, killer-cop and restorative justice issue. I know that one of CAPE's goals is to have BART fund "healing centers" that include restorative justice as part of what is offered.

"Yeah, so I was in San Francisco today talking with teachers and this issue is so charged that we spent the entire hour just on this. They can't teach because all their time is spent on discipline in the classroom, but it became clear that this issue is so present that I decided to just go with it and help everyone process this terrible event."

I'm too tired to do this topic any kind of justice right now. But the folks at CAPE have a good handle on it. I believe there were something like a dozen executions of young black men by non-black cops in the last two years here in Oakland. This time, due to the video evidence, perhaps some healing can occur.

My heart goes out to Johannes Mehserle. We ask a lot of out police forces, and perhaps we don't support them well enough. My heart goes out to Oscar Grant's family. Nothing we do now can bring that man back from the dead. But perhaps we can find ways to make sure this is the last time such an execution happens.

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