7 Restorative Justice and Youth Violence Toward Parents

Abstract

Restorative justice and youth violence toward parents IntroductionConsider this case of Carolyn and Des: 1 One afternoon in September 2001, Des (16 years old) came home drunk. His mother Carolyn (35 years old) told him that he had received a phone call about a job.He went to change his clothes, but had trouble getting his belt on. He got aggravated, started punching the walls, and then smashed a hole in the wall. He went to the kitchen and walked toward Carolyn, yelling at her and calling her names, before pushing her in the chest with both hands. Carolyn ran to the phone to call the police, but Des ripped it out of the wall. He went to another room and pulled another phone out of the wall.Carolyn tried to leave the house, but Des grabbed and pushed her against the wall, repeatedly yelling at her "you're not leaving the house. I'll fucking kill you." Carolyn was scared that he would hurt her, although she didn't think he would kill her. He picked up a knife from a kitchen drawer, she started to cry, and she said that "this seemed to make Des more aggressive and violent towards me." Des then slammed the knife into the breakfast bar, just missing Carolyn's hand. The knife hit with such force that its point was bent and the laminate and wood were damaged.Carolyn ran from the house and called the police. A police officer came about an hour and a half later, took her statement, and searched for Des. After finding Des, he took him to the police station, where he was interviewed and charged with assault. That evening, he made "full and frank admissions" to the police about pushing his mother, slamming the knife near her fingers, and threatening to kill her. The police report says 3

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