Criminal justice reform needs compassion
A proposal to provide eligibility to everyone who is serving a life sentence means opening old wounds for victims.
Victims and survivors of violent crimes often face questions about forgiveness. About healing. About compassion. Individuals often misunderstand the healing journey of a survivor, making comments and judgments based on how they think they might feel if their own loved one was murdered.
Haven’t they served long enough? Time will heal all wounds. The offender has suffered, too, behind bars. No justice can bring their loved one back anyway, so what’s the harm in releasing the inmate?
These expectations are frequently thrust onto victims, placing the burden on the victim to forgive. To heal. To dole out compassion to a criminal who offered no compassion to them or their family member in the midst of committing atrocious acts of violence.
Criminal justice reform measures are absolutely necessary; there are many areas in which our approach needs to be improved to ensure safer communities and more equitable outcomes. There is also a focus on second chances and rehabilitation; these are concepts that the state Office of Victim Advocate and many survivors strongly support, including probation reform, expanded access to the Board of Pardons, reduced sentences for nonviolent offenders and restorative justice programs.
There is an area of reform, however, that still lacks a balanced approach: Blanket parole eligibility for those serving a life sentence for a murder conviction. As written, this proposal would make every person serving a life sentence in Pennsylvania eligible for parole.
Consider the man who, after raping his two daughters for most of their lives, broke into their home on Christmas Eve and killed them and their mother in retaliation for coming forward, while leaving his infant granddaughter in a pool of blood on the floor. His case would be in the same parole eligibility category as those who served as the “lookout” during crime resulting in death.
Yes, let us redefine our justice system in a way that resets the scales for those who have been wronged by that very system. But let us not risk public safety by categorizing unequal crimes as equal.
When an individual becomes parole eligible, they are able to petition the state Parole Board for consideration every year thereafter, regardless of suitability or previous denials.
Blanket eligibility doesn’t guarantee release, but victims/ survivors of crime are an integral part of the parole process. Providing eligibility to everyone who is serving a life sentence means that little girl who was left for dead now must contend with notifications and testimony opportunities every single year, ripping open her wounds to ensure that paroling decision makers understand her concerns. It is incumbent upon our lawmakers to be honorable gatekeepers. This delivers no justice, no balance, and certainly no reform.
A better approach would be one-time consideration through the Board of Pardons. This would not create an endless loop of victimization for survivors. While many find it very hard to consider the release of the person who murdered their loved one, some welcome the opportunity to be supportive.
We must be ever mindful, however, that no one defines healing for a survivor other than that survivor. Their forgiveness is not a requirement to their healing. Even if a victim/ survivor is able to forgive, that should not be automatically considered a demarcation that they must support the release of that offender. This notion is being tossed around by some, and it is causing added harm.
Let us continue to blaze the trails of reform through an honorable bail system, by diverting nonviolent offenders from prison into programs that actually rehabilitate, via supervision reductions for those who pose no risk to society. Let us seek to eliminate mandatory life sentences for those offenders who never played an active role in the taking of another life. These are opportunities to reduce the wasting of taxpayer dollars, decrease harm, and bridge healing.
Our justice system is designed to provide accountability for the crime committed, which does not include a requirement of victims/survivors to absolve those who caused harm. The expectation that they do so is unrealistic, unfair, and unjust.