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JRP Magazine

Interview with Jennifer Bishop-Jenkins

Jennifer Bishop-Jenkins is a victim-survivor of violent crime who lives in Illinois. Her sister, Nancy Bishop Langert, her brother in-law, Richard Langert, and their unborn child were murdered in Winnetka, Illinois in 1990. The killer was 16 years old. Jennifer has been working in the violence prevention field as a victims’ advocate ever since the crime. She works to prevent gun violence nationally and actively supports efforts to end the death penalty in the U.S. Jennifer became a board member of JRP in 2006. She fully supports restorative justice.

JRP Interviews : Applying Restorative Justice to Genocide in Rwanda

The following is an interview with Dan Van Ness, executive director of the Centre for Justice and Reconciliation at Prison Fellowship International, PFI, based in Virginia. Dan is one of the foremost authorities on restorative justice internationally. As ED of the Centre, he works with the national affiliates of PFI (there are Prison Fellowship ministries in 112 countries) when they confront issues related to justice and reconciliation. Beginning in 2001, Dan assisted Prison Fellowship Rwanda as that group helped prepare genocide perpetrators prepare to confront their victims, survivors and communities.

An Interview with Texas victim of crime, Ellen Halbert

The following is a JRP Online Interview with Ellen Halbert conducted in May 2005.

Background:

In 1986, Ellen Halbert was raped, stabbed, beaten with a hammer and left for dead in her home in Texas. During her recovery, she began to speak out about victims’ rights and what needed to change in our “offender-focused” criminal justice system.? In 1991, she was appointed by Governor Ann Richards as the first victim to serve on the Texas Board of Criminal Justice, the board that oversees the massive adult criminal justice system in Texas.? This six-year appointment ended in March 1997.