Updated Friday, June 27, 2008

Stories show how lives change

By Steve DeVane

BR Managing Editor

Leaders of the Juvenile Justice Project at Campbell University School of Law say the program and others like it have helped victims and offenders. Here are some of their stories.

What are the odds?

Anthony Baker, a professor at the law school, told of an "interesting mediation" in an e-mail to his son that he released to the Recorder. Baker talked about two 14-year-old boys - one white and one black - who got in a fight. Both like rap music and sports, especially basketball.

The white boy is not racist, but "finds identity with a group of down and out white kids that love to hunt, fish and use the 'N' word."

The black kid had recently moved to Harnett County with his aunt from New York City.

"What are the odds of these kids meeting on some nameless field in some hard scrabble Southern county and pounding the heck out of each other over the use of the 'N' word, among other things?" Baker said. "What are the odds of them meeting over a mediation table because some hard-boiled but soft-hearted DA saw clearly the absolute futility of the court process trying to reach these kids?"

The two boys talked with each other, listened to each other and found common ground. After the mediation, they were guests of the Campbell University basketball program at a double-header. They sat together right behind the Campbell bench.

They also toured the campus.

"They asked a lot of questions about college, as though the notion was brand new in their heads, and cool, and growing," Baker said.

At the end of the day, the white kid wanted to see where his new friend lived.

"No, it ain't world peace ... but ...," Baker said.

A dog becomes a pet

Jon Powell remembers two young boys who had heard an older young man say that he'd pay for a white Pit Bull puppy.

The boys walked by a house that had one every day.

That night, they cut through the fence and took the dog. They gave it to the older guy, but it eventually ended up at a house down the street. Investigators traced the dog's disappearance to the boys, who agreed to go through mediation.

The single mother who lived in the house from where the dog was stolen had been worried that the thieves would return and break in the house.

Her daughter had been upset because her pet was taken.

During the mediation the two boys realized how they had upset the family. They had just thought of the dog as a dog, not as somebody's pet.

After the session, the boys agreed to work to make money to buy materials and fix the fence.

Deeper issues revealed

Allison Pope Cooper tells of a case involving two girls who had a minor altercation on Halloween night. The issue escalated at school the next week.

Both families lived in the same neighborhood. One included four kids being raised by their grandmother.

During mediation, issues surfaced that showed a deeper dispute between the two families.

"By the time we left, everyone had cried at some point," Cooper said. "I think we touched them in a way the court system would not have been able to accomplish."

Parents gain understanding

Michael A. Myers mediated a case in Wilmington involving two young girls who he described as "alike in spirit." The two girls were friends in junior high.

After one of the girls broke up with her boyfriend, the other girl started dating him. Soon the two were talking behind each other's back.

One day, one of the girls thought she heard the other say something about her. She chased her down and got her in a headlock that caused her to have trouble breathing.

Police charged the first girl with felony strangulation, which in court could have sentenced her to "more than a slap on the wrist," Myers said. The girl wants to attend a military academy, which would become nearly impossible with a felony conviction.

The girls eventually agreed to mediation. The biggest obstacle was their parents, who didn't know the whole story, Myers said.

After the mediation, the parents understood and realized that their daughters were not perfect, he said. The girls hugged each other.

"A court would not have been able to do that in the right way," Myers said. "It was an all-around perfect result."