Part 2: Restorative Justice Seeks Accountability Without Prison

The Minneapolis-based Restorative Justice Community Action nonprofit is demonstrating an approach centered on accountability, dialogue, and community repair rather than incarceration.

The organization’s diversion programs work with adults and youth in Hennepin County who have committed misdemeanors or felonies. Instead of proceeding through the traditional court process, eligible participants meet with trained facilitators and community volunteers in a restorative justice conference to examine the harm they caused and develop a plan to repair it.

Cases are referred by county or city attorneys and screened to determine whether restorative justice is the right fit. Participants must acknowledge responsibility for their actions. The process depends on honest accountability and those who are not ready for the process are referred back to the traditional court process or another diversion program.

“What we’re really looking for is for people to take accountability for their actions,” explains community and volunteer coordinator Chris Heller. “We’re not here to punish. We’re here to be in community.”

Unlike a courtroom, restorative justice conferences are confidential and conversational. Sessions typically last an hour-and-half to two-and-a-half hours, allowing discussions to unfold “at the speed of trust” instead of under rigid deadlines.

Because many cases involve incidents without a clearly identifiable victim — such as drug possession or theft from large retailers — community members often provide perspectives participants had not considered. Someone who has experienced a stolen vehicle, for example, can describe the lost workday, insurance hassles, and financial burden that followed, helping participants understand consequences beyond a criminal charge.

Heller likened the impact of crime to “throwing a rock in a pond,” where “all of our actions, positive or negative, ripple out beyond us.”

The heart of each conference is storytelling. Facilitators ask participants to describe not only what happened, but also what led to their decisions. In drug-related cases, conversations may explore when addiction began and how it shaped later choices.

Staff members say many participants are unaccustomed to being asked about their lives rather than judged for a mistake. “We don’t tend to see the person behind the charge,” says facilitator Sylvester Winfield, reflecting on the traditional court process. “We get to really learn about them — what they’re like, what occurred before, during, and after.”

Parents and other supporters are encouraged to participate. Circle discussions emphasize respectful listening, with only one person speaking at a time. Facilitators intentionally create an atmosphere free of shame while still addressing the impact of their actions.

Each conference concludes with a restorative agreement tailored to the participant’s circumstances. Rather than standardized penalties, agreements may include apology letters, volunteer service, counseling, Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, job applications, mentoring, educational goals or other measurable steps toward personal growth and repairing of harm.

“It’s about taking small steps that will snowball into positive impacts,” Heller explained. “By putting people into prison, they can’t cause any more harm to the community — but they also can’t have positive impacts on the community.”

Adults typically complete their agreements within two months while remaining in contact with case coordinators. The organization handles approximately 10 to 15 adult cases each month.

Youth programming extends beyond diversion services. RJCA partners with Koinonia Leadership Academy to host the Restorative Practices Youth Leadership Cohort, engaging teens to build cross-cultural and intergenerational relationships, develop an understanding of restorative ways of being, and nurture leadership development.

Staff members come to the work through varied paths, including psychology, sociology, and peace studies, but many describe personal experiences that shaped their commitment. One coordinator recalled growing up with a mother who struggled with addiction and involvement in the criminal legal system, while another said witnessing racial disparities in youth prosecutions inspired a desire to create change. Both noted that restorative justice represents an older tradition rather than a new invention.

“This is truly the oldest way of handling harm,” Winfield said, noting that many Indigenous cultures resolved conflicts through community circles long before modern courts existed.

The work, they acknowledge, is slower and more demanding than simply imposing punishment. Yet they believe lasting public safety depends on helping people repair relationships, reconnect with their communities, and build lives that reduce future harm.

As Winfield put it: A mistake “is not who you are. This is a snapshot in your life. You made a mistake, but that is not who you’re always going to be.”

Julia Mockert, a student at St. Olaf College, interned with the group in the summer. “I’m a sociology and anthropology major, so we talk a lot about systems: this is the way that people work, this is the way culture works, the way society works. When you get bogged down in all of that, it’s hard to see new solutions, and it’s hard to see a better way of doing things. Restorative justice is a very powerful way to not simply patch up the holes, but actually create capacity for a new system that does things in a better way.”

To support our unique and independent coverage: