Restorative Justice Symposium Presents ‘Meeting with a Killer’

Event features Emmy-nominated documentary and victims’ advocate Linda White

Linda White

Linda White’s world was turned upside down when her 26-year-old daughter was murdered by two teenage boys. Years later, she met with one of her daughter’s murderers. The Emmy-nominated documentary film Meeting with a Killer: One Family’s Journey chronicles the events leading up to the meeting, its aftermath and how it inspired White to dedicate her life to helping victims’ families find peace and closure through restorative justice practices.

The film and White’s story will be the subject of an upcoming restorative justice symposium hosted by Rochester Institute of Technology Oct. 23. The event, which includes a screening of the film and a presentation by White, begins at 6 p.m. in Eastman Hall, room 2000.

“Restorative justice focuses on conflict resolution and meeting the needs of victims and offenders through open discussions and restitution as opposed to exacting punishment,” notes Judy Porter, professor of criminal justice at RIT. “Linda White’s story illustrates how the practice can be used to help victims and their families deal with the pain, anger and grief associated with violent crime.”

White travels around the country speaking and conducting training sessions on restorative-justice programming. She previously served as an adjunct professor of psychology and philosophy at Sam Houston State University and is a member of Murder Victims Families for Reconciliation.

The restorative justice symposium is sponsored by RIT’s Department of Criminal Justice, the University of Rochester’s M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence, SUNY Brockport and Partners in Restorative Justice.

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