Speaker: Drug war is eroding tradition

By THOM MARSHALL
Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle

Donnie Earle felt danger in the room.

He had invited a group of people to discuss problems in their neighborhood in Austin, where Earle has spent the past quarter-century serving as district attorney.

Neighbors had complained to police about drug dealers, and the cops responded with an operation that led to many arrests, and Earle said he met with the neighbors to ask, "What did they want me to do with them?"

The quick and popular answer was "lock 'em up." But then it was pointed out that the punishment in most cases would be two years, max, and then they'd get out and come back. And what about the families of the small-time drug dealers who were arrested? Their children were victims, too.

Earle said that, as the neighbors discussed their situation in terms that reflected their hopelessness, their "sense of powerlessness to control the forces that influence our lives," he could feel the same danger that he had felt in other meetings.

"Mostly it is dangerous because it is contrary to our tradition in this country of a muscular people not afraid to determine our own values," he said.

In need of different approach

Earle told the story about this meeting when he spoke last week at the conference on the drug war at Rice University's Baker Institute. He used it to illustrate why he believes that the principles of restorative justice would serve our communities and our nation better than the traditional retributive justice practices. He pointed out that, in large part because of the war on drugs, black American males now stand a 28 percent chance of getting locked up at some point in their lives.

As was mentioned here Saturday, in part one of the Ronnie Earle story, the difference between the two policies is that retributive justice asks, "Who did it? What law did they break? How can we punish them?" and restorative justice asks, "What is the harm? What needs to be done to repair the harm? Who is responsible for the harm?"

When we examine what harm has been done "to us as a people" by our current drug policy, Earle said, we see "democracy is in trouble." That is the danger he felt in that meeting and in other meetings he has participated in with people who share the same feelings as those frustrated neighbors.

"That sense of powerlessness and helplessness is dangerous," Earle said, "because it walks hand in hand with fear, and it can enshroud itself in fascism."

Who and what can be restored

He said various practices of restorative justice can "strengthen the institutions of democracy by restoring civic virtue and civic participation."

For instance, Austin has some neighborhood conference committees, "where neighbors set punishment for juveniles who get in trouble."

And victim impact panels involve one or more crime victims meeting with a group of offenders "to just tell what it's like."

And victim-offender mediated dialogue, a program of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, arranges for victims to meet with their offenders.

And sentencing circles, in which the victim, community members, the offender and supporters of both sides can help determine an appropriate sentence. Earle said such circles are used in Austin "with significant impact."

And community impact panels, which involve neighbors talking with people about to be released from prison and discussing their plans for the future, their families and how their past behavior has affected the neighborhood.

Earle said the neighbors in that aforementioned meeting organized Austin's first community impact panel and are meeting with the drug offenders individually.

"The neighbors offer support for the difficulties that are part of re-entry into the community," Earle said.

They are working to restore civic virtue and civic participation and a sense of community in their neighborhood.

"They're not feeling helpless anymore," he said.