By Katy Hutchison, author of Walking After Midnight
On December 31st, 1997 my husband Bob excused himself briefly from our small dinner party to check on a teen's house party taking place down the street at the home of a vacationing friend. He never returned. Bob was beaten to death as he attempted to break up the party and I was left widowed with two small children. It took an undercover police operation to break the code of silence that shrouded the small town we lived in, and finally, five years later an arrest was made. Police were stunned by my request to meet the young man who was charged in connection with Bob's death. That face-to-face meeting was the first step in forever changing my perception of real justice.
- Being the family victim of a violent crime jettisoned me into the criminal justice system; and a series of processes in which I had little or no say. When I initiated a meeting with the perpetrator I was able to ask the questions I needed answered and regain a sense of control.
Katy Hutchison is an advocate for restorative justice and a professional speaker working with young people on topics of social responsibility in Victoria, BC. She is author of Walking After Midnight: One Woman's Journey Through Murder, Justice, and Forgiveness . Katy's story is the inspiration for the movie Bond of Silence premiering on Lifetime Network August 23, 2010.