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This article presents two case studies that represent the first examination of any capital murder cases involving a victim offender mediation/dialogue session between a surviving family member and the death row inmate facing execution shortly after the mediation session. The 5 participants (3 surviving family members and 2 offenders) in these ground-breaking death row mediation/dialogue sessions stated that this intervention had a powerful impact on their lives; all had been moved beyond their expectations, all were relieved, all reported significant progress on their healing journeys, and all were grateful for the opportunity. Furthermore, all 5 persons pointed to the same set of components to account for their response. The authors suggest that practitioners and policy makers should give serious consideration to cautiously expanding opportunities for such restorative encounters that are initiated and requested by victims and surviving family members of severely violent crime.

Peacemaking circles have received a great deal of attention within the international restorative justice movement. The use of peacemaking circles for structuring communication and decision-making in many diverse cultures is probably as ancient as humankind. Peacemaking circles are particularly integrated and used among the many indigenous tribes of North America. This article reports on the development and use of peacemaking circles in South Saint Paul, Minnesota, representing the first exploratory study of circles in the US. The South Saint Paul initiative represents one of the oldest efforts in the US to adapt circles as a restorative justice approach within the community and schools. Peacemaking circles were found to be an effective approach to involve community members in the process of holding local offenders accountable for repairing the harm they caused, to assist crime victims, and to foster a greater sense of connectedness among all those affected by crime within the community.

A small but growing number of jurisdictions across the U.S. offer victims of severe violence, including homicide, the opportunity to meet in a mediated dialogue session with their offender if they so desire. Such meetings are victim initiated and involve extensive preparation of the parties. This article reports on an intensive qualitative five-year study of mediated dialogue participants in two of the first states in the U.S. to do so, Texas and Ohio. Descriptions of the two programs and key characteristics of participants are provided, along with outcome data related to the experience of both crime victims and offenders in mediated dialogue in the context of severely violent crime.