Most courtrooms are the scenes of people filled more with passion than compassion. Ask any judge or attorney and they will tell you that people complain about their lack of emotion. People show up feeling anger and seeking revenge in the disguise of justice. They want someone punished and they expect to hear their attorney spew forth the same emotion that has moved them. Often they feel that they just didn’t get enough…enough drama, enough vengeance, enough sympathy and of course enough money. It is not their idea of fair. They walk out shocked and often disappointed that things are pretty cut and dried under the letter of the law.

But there’s another type of justice, restorative justice. As part of the process it brings together both the victim and the offender to allow them to see one another face to face and talk their way through the incident. It seeks to calm the fear and anger of both parties and restore balance and harmony. It may not always be appropriate and it may not always work, but in this instance it did.

The Loomis Basin Congregational United Church of Christ at 6440 King Road lost a building in a fire about two years ago. The fire had been set by two youths. One young man was being tried as an adult and was required to appear in court recently for final sentencing. His attorney, Leah Ann Alcazar, knew the probable outcome would be not only the mark of infamy that the conviction would brand him with for the rest of his life and the financial burden of reparation but guilt over a terrible mistake made as a youth that could live in his head forever. So she took a bold step and called the church to see if they would be willing to meet with him to let him apologize face to face and explain what had happened. They agreed.

When he joined the congregation for a Sunday service they saw a quiet, shy young man barely past boyhood. As they listened to him they finally understood what had happened and at last knew that the church had not been the target of a hate crime. A nagging fear vanished. Now it was clear that the fire was an accident and the boys had emptied every fire extinguisher trying to put it out and left not knowing that an ember would ignite and burn down the building.

The young man listened quietly as each person told him what the fire had meant to them personally. When every person had finished he told them that until that moment he had only thought of it as an empty building but now he saw faces of people, a community, whose lives had been impacted by the fire. He said he was truly sorry and ashamed and offered to come back and work for the church.

Conversation led to understanding and eventually to compassion. When the young man appeared in court members of the congregation made it a point to attend the hearing and speak about the impact on the congregation of meeting him eye to eye. They asked the court to extend mercy.

Recently the church received a letter from the judge who presided (Judge C. Nichols, Placer County Superior Court) and with her permission we quote from that letter: “It is a rare day when we get to see firsthand the results of victim-offender mediation. The church members are an example of how a group of people committed to social justice puts their beliefs into action. I believe that you all chose to take a very negative situation and, with an open mind and open heart, turned it into a positive, growing experience for everyone. What a tremendous moment that must have been for everyone. I know how the members’ statements impacted me personally in court. I was also witness to the affect it had on (the offender). Rarely do I get choked up, but I certainly did that day. This situation will forever be a shining example of restorative justice.”

This little church starts each Sunday service with the words: “No matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here.” Seldom has it had a more profound ring of truth for either the congregation or a frightened young man than it did on that uniquely special Sunday. (For additional information about this open and affirming, peace and justice church visit their website loomisucc.org.)

Written by Judy Rollins and Submitted by Susan Lee Giles, members of Loomis Basin UCC