Posted on 08/08/2025 5:29:39 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Restorative Justice is a state-funded program that helps people who commit crimes avoid jail time, fines and criminal records. Our Laura Ullman investigates how the program works and whether it’s successful.
“I’ve lost a lot of trust, burned a lot of bridges and I can only pray over time that people can see change in me,” said Travis Merritt, a Restorative Justice client.
Merritt went through the Restorative Justice program that gives people a second shot at freedom.
Some 4,272 offenders were sent to Restorative Justice in 2023, the latest number on record.
About 28,000 crimes are reported in Vermont each year. So, on average, about one in seven offenders goes through Restorative Justice.
The process happens behind closed doors out of public view.
Merritt was coming off a 10-day cocaine bender and was certain the feds had bugged him. It was the dead of winter. Desperate, he ditched his car, his clothes and started running through the snow-covered woods.
“I was barefoot only in my boxers. It was wet, very cold. I had frostbite,” he said.
He had spent the night in the woods of Fairfield. When the sun rose, he knew he needed to get help. He made it to a house and opened up the door to find a mother home alone with her baby.
“She was scared to death,” he said.
Unlawful trespass is just one of Merritt’s charges that the state’s attorney referred to the Franklin Grand Isle Restorative Justice Center. There, Merritt was put in the Tamarack program, a court diversion program for adults with substance use or mental health treatment needs.
“I had a choice to either work on myself and get the help that I needed or to go to jail,” Merritt said.
He chose to turn his life around. But to do that, Merritt would have to enter a three-month-long process that kicks off with a panel that includes the restorative justice case manager, the victims’ advocate and two representatives of the community.
“To come here through this process, they really have to own what they’ve done and take responsibility for it,” said Harmony Bourgeois, the executive director of the Franklin Grand Isle Restorative Justice Center.
Merritt started off by diving into his past trauma. Then, he had to confess to crimes he had committed against his victims and his community.
“I don’t feel like I’m a good person,” he said.
“I personally appreciate knowing that this is painful for you,” said Linda Fairchild, a community volunteer.
Victims play a huge role in who gets placed in restorative justice. While it’s ultimately up to the state’s attorney, they consider what the victim wants.
Grand Isle County State’s Attorney Doug DiSabito said, “In diversion or restorative justice referral, the victim of a crime has a voice.”
So does the community. Volunteers share how the crime hurts the town. The victims’ advocate then shares a statement or request from the victim if there is one.
“The defendant can have an opportunity to understand how their criminal behavior affected the victim and the community, and learn why it shouldn’t happen again. That’s the biggest part of this,” DiSabito said.
From there, the panel builds a contract where the responsible party has to make amends for their wrongdoing. It can be an apology letter to those they’ve harmed, financial reparations for the damage they’ve caused, community service or any number of reparative solutions.
They have a deadline to do it or they fail.
Reporter Laura Ullman: How many people do you send that get sent back because they fail?
Grand Isle County State’s Attorney Doug DiSabito: Unfortunately, it’s a lot.
If they fail, they get sent back to the traditional criminal justice system.
The majority of crimes that get referred to restorative justice are misdemeanors.
Most of those who fail the process end up on probation with fines or with a couple of days in jail.
“A lot of times they’re not seeing what they did wrong,” Fairchild said. “They aren’t ready to admit it and own up to it.”
In 2023, some 1,349 or about one-third of defendants didn’t complete their contracts, show up at their panels or take responsibility for their actions.
“The pressure from the Legislature, as well as the restorative justice center, is to send anybody, anybody who qualifies,” DiSabito said.
The state’s attorney says the program rarely works for repeat offenders.
People who fail the program will often get sent back to restorative justice again and again to no avail.
“It’s a drain on the resources,” DiSabito said.
It shows in the recidivism rates, too. The latest data is from 2019. Researchers found that criminals with prior rap sheets commit crimes after the restorative justice process 90% of the time. For first-time participants, it’s less than 1%.
“It works for me when it works, it works for the community when it works, but I’ve been skeptical of people with cases who have long histories,” DiSabito said.
Looking at the criminal justice system overall, 43% of incarcerated Vermonters reoffend, compared to just 16% of restorative justice graduates. The number skews lower because of those first-time offenders.
“You have to really want this. If you don’t, it’s not going to work.” Merritt said.
Merritt is a repeat offender, but he was ready to change. He’s sober for the first time in 30 years.
“That very day I contacted restorative justice saved my life,” he said. “I’m not sure how or why, but some kind of miracle happened here.”
I checked in to see if Travis Merritt completed his project. At his final panel meeting, he was mostly done. So, the panel gave him an extension to complete an apology letter. He finished that on Monday.
How glowing! Too bad so many people have been hurt or killed by criminals the lunatic left refuses to put in jail.
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