Restorative Justice Round Table Discussion

Restorative justice seeks to identify the justice needs of everyone involved in a crime. It is a growing global movement helping victims and communities heal, while holding criminals responsible. The authors will present how their research and writing have been influenced by restorative justice and lead a discussion on its practical application.

Tallahassee author Agnes Furey has been a pioneering voice, after reaching out to understand the killer of her only daughter and grandson, and narrating the experience in Wildflowers in the Median: A Restorative Journey into Healing, Justice, and Joy. She was recently invited to São Paulo by the Banco do Brasil to speak at their annual banking conference.  The Bank had Wildflowers in the Median translated and published in Portuguese, of which Furey signed hundreds of copies! If you haven’t read the book, it is a tale not of forgiveness, but of understanding – a story of a survivor of crime and a criminal finding communion as each struggle with grief and suffering, eventually coming to terms with their spiritual identities and a desire to help others in similar circumstances.

She will be joined by Samuel R. Staley, PhD, who is the author of Unsafe On Any Campus? College Sexual Assault and What We Can Do About, an uncompromising and hard hitting look at sexual assault on today’s college and university campuses. The insights framing this book are rooted in the stories of male and female students who have experienced sexual assault while working at Florida State University (where he teaches urban economics, entrepreneurship, and urban planning) and as a self-defense coach. Indeed, the forward is written by a campus sexual assault survivor. Staley’s book has one first place in the categories of Adult Nonfiction, Current Events, and Published Educational/Informational book in the Royal Palm Literary Awards (Florida Writers Association) and President’s Awards presented by the Florida Authors and Publishers Association.

Faith Eidse, PhD, has recently published Healing Falls, a story about mothers separated from children while serving time for nonviolent drug offenses. It was recently judged “moving, noble, timely” by Writer’s Digest and of great impact in promoting understanding of mothers in prison. Inspired by six years volunteering in Florida’s women’s prisons, this is Eidse’s first novel, following several award-winning non-fiction titles.