Restorative Justice
The day had finally come, a Tuesday like no other. Christopher Smith was literally trembling as he prepared to meet the father of Loeshe Lacy. He walked into the dimly lit prison reception room with his support worker and saw three people sitting in a narrow arch. His seat was directly opposite Donald Lacy, the father. It was the hardest thing he had ever had to do. The programme was a new initiative based on restorative justice. It gave an opportunity to either victims or surviving members to come face to face with their offender in the hope of finding answers and healing. It sought to answer the question, “what would you need in order to be restored?” Don Lacy had waited twenty years for this day.
It was 6pm, October the 20th 1997, a normal day and the end of a work day for the two girls. Maya and Loeshe were both tired and needed to get home. Luckily for them, they saw Jonathan McDowell who offered to give them a lift. Loeshe got into the front seat with him and Maya into the back. As they were about to take off, Loeshe had second thoughts. “Maya, would you like to sit in front?” Loeshes’ new boyfriend was extremely possessive and jealous. She didn’t want him seeing her in the front seat and wanted to spare herself all the explanations. She always felt so flattered when he acted all jealous and protective over her. As the van was about to take off, another car roughly cut them off and four young men with guns ambushed them. They opened fire on the car and turned the place into a war zone. Jonathan ducked behind the wheel and so did Maya. The two people in the front seats got away with surface wounds but not Loeshe. She was hit with seven bullets, execution style. She was at the wrong place at the wrong time, the innocent bystander. The police report said over 45 rounds of ammunition were fired.
Donald was Loeshe’s father. He spoke fondly about the day she was born. Her mum had gone into labour by about 2am on the way to the hospital. She had been born in the back seat of the car as he drove. Her name was specially coined by her father, a combination of two African words from the Igbo language; Lolo – love and Eesher – life. She lived up to her name, a lover of life. She was a leader and people naturally gravitated towards her. Her premature death had completely shattered her father. Sadly, their marriage also couldn’t withstand the trauma of her tragic passing. All the pressure eventually drove him to seek for a meeting with the perpetrator (Christopher Smith) after struggling for years.
Chris had never known love nor stability while growing up. He had had an absentee father and an unavailable mother. His earliest memories left him feeling unwanted, unloved and unworthy of being loved. He talked about an incident when he was with his mum and his two younger brothers at age seven. They were standing on the stair case of an apartment building and their mum she said, “I’ll be back, y’all wait for me here”. She left them on that stair case and didn’t come back until the next day. Chris cried as he reminisced. This was to repeat itself over and over again for the next few years. They would be abandoned with complete strangers in random places for days. she could be gone for a few weeks and her classic words would be “I’ll be back later”. He was the oldest and felt responsible for his two younger brothers.
Chris talked about an occasion where he was walking on the street with his brothers and being extremely hungry. They hadn’t eaten in days. He saw the empty box of a take way meal which was covered in ants. He didn’t see the ants. All he could see was the prospects of some crumbs. He picked it up, took out the leftover sauces and tasted them to ensure they were still okay. He shared it with his brothers, they were his life. The experience of lack, hunger and abandonment had such a detrimental effect on Chris. By the time he was eleven, he had been let down by every adult in his life. His mother and father had both abandoned him and family members had taken advantage of them.
At that point, for the first time in his life he found acceptance in a gang. They became the family he never had. The gang cared for him, spent time with him, fought for him and were there for him. He finally also had a best friend with the same first name, Christopher Fletcher. His gang meant the world to him. That year, the war was on! The Milton Street Gang and the Ghost Town Gang had been rumbling. Its very unclear what the problem had been and why Jonathan McDowell needed to be eliminated. All he remembered was that it was his turn to carry out the assignment as everyone else had had theirs.
He didn’t ask any questions, he was a follower. Unfortunately, he was also struggling with the recent shooting of his best friend by the rival gang and this fuelled him even more. At 16, he wanted to prove his loyalty to the gang and affirm his manhood. He was eventually given a gun and three others to execute the mission. Chris talked about seeing Jonathan’s yellow van but not seeing the people. He remembered clearly firing the gun and escaping. The following day, he discovered in school that his friend and classmate had been shot dead. They were all 16 year olds.
Out of the four perpetrators, only Chris was convicted and jailed for the murder of Loeshe. In prison, although he was known as little Chris, he couldn’t show the fear he felt. To show fear was to look weak and to be taken advantage of. To survive, he reinforced the gang beliefs and attitudes he had cultivated. He sat in jail for twenty long years before being invited to participate in the redemption project.
The pinnacle of the programme was when they all had to sit together face to face. The hour couldn’t come fast enough for Donald. He had waited for this moment for a long time. All he ever wanted was to make eye contact with the shooter, something Chris had denied him on the day of the trial. His heart was still full of pain and fury. He only had one question to ask as Chris sat opposite him sobbing, head bowed. Don stared intently at him, lips quivering and tears quietly streaming down his face. He couldn’t form any words. At last, he spoke, “I have always wanted to ask, what was that all about? Why were you all so mad that day”. Chris took a deep breath as he responded, “Sir, I cant even tell you what it was all about. I wish I had an answer for you. I was a follower and didn’t ask any questions. I take full responsibility for my actions today and I am sorry.” Don couldn’t believe what he was hearing. There was no apparent reason why his daughter was killed. Tension was thick in the air as Don stared at him weeping quietly. Chris still had more to say, “through the years, I kept on hearing about your works in the community but I never heard anything about Mrs Lacy. Please how is she? I can only imagine the impact of my actions on her.” Don confirmed that she had suffered and was still suffering. She was very upset to learn that he wanted to have the meeting with him as it didn’t make any sense to her.
Dons final words to Chris were “I forgive you. What’s most important is not how a man starts but how he ends. I know you’re sorry and I can see where your heart is.” The two men got up and hugged for a long time, each weeping for a different pain. Chris was put up for parole for the second time the following year. Don came for the hearing and his testimony was key to having him paroled.
This story is a sad reality of many incarcerated men. For alot of them, their backgrounds would play major roles in their mishaps, especially growing up without positive father figures. It breaks my heart to see so many lives wasted and the ensuing vicious cycle. When will it end? Who will mentor the fatherless? Who will get the fathers out of prison? Who will stop the little teen girls having children? Its difficult for an ex convict to get a job in America, especially if they are men of colour. This simply exacerbates the vicious cycle. If you can’t get a job, the likelihood is that you’d have to live a life of crime to survive. Where is the solution? Where does it end? O God, help us all.
Please leave a comment below. Yes, you can share, share, share. This story was culled from the Redemption Project (google it) of Mr Van Jones. It is a true story and all names are real, details of events are real. We are sad to report that Mr Donald Lacy passed away in May of 2020.
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