"Does restorative justice have a role in responding to homicide?"

Drawing from fiction and from the lived experience of two mothers directly affected by crime related deaths, the dialogue explored the potential in Scotland for restorative practices to address some of the needs of those who have seen harm caused to a wide range of people in their family network.

The key contributors to this dialogue were:

Cath Staincliffe is a Manchester based crime fiction author. Her novel Letters to My Daughter's Killer movingly explores the experience of bereavement through homicide and the emotional needs unsatisfied by the formal criminal justice process.

Professor Bill Whyte of Edinburgh University worked in social work and youth justice before making the transition to teaching and research. He was Director of the Criminal Justice Social Work Development Centre for Scotland 2001-13. He has a longstanding interest in RJ and has recently contributed to practice in serious crime through the Restoration in Serious Crime (RISC) pilot project.

Niall Kearney, is an experienced RJ facilitator, former chair of the European Forum on Restorative Justice, and tutor at the University of Strathclyde. He worked with Bill Whyte on the RiSC project.