President Elect Jason Jones took the lead at our meeting on Friday and did an excellent job running his first RCSE meeting. Jason reminded everyone of the two upcoming service projects - Tybee Island Beach Clean Up on Saturday, May 21, and the Camp Low Clean Up Day on Saturday, June 4. Foundation Chair Ed Engel read the Rotary Code of Ethics during his Foundation Minute. Once all business items were discussed, Gordon Matthews introduced our speaker for the day, Kelly Branham, who has been involved in capital defense for over 30 years.
Kelly believes restorative justice is at its core about building peace. The court room can be very traumatizing for both sides. She believes restorative justice can bring humanity back into the courtroom. We need to shift our focus to who was harmed (the victim), what are their needs, and who is responsible. The victim and the community need to parallel each other. We also need to try and understand the root causes of violence and acknowledge the enemy's story. She passed out handouts with diagrams of the victim and offender cycles and discussed how these cycles can be continuos. She also spoke briefly on leadership. Effective leadership during times of conflict can help but a malignant leader can increase anxiety and fear.