Webinar: The role of the formerly incarcerated in the RJ Movement and RJ in prison

When: -

Guest: Tyrone Werts and Greg Winship

Host: Howard Zehr

Slides from this webinar (right-click to download).

This webinar will reflect on the role of the formerly incarcerated in the Restorative Justice movement and on restorative justice in prison. The webinar features two men, both of whom were incarcerated with life sentences. Collectively, they have more than 50 years’ experience in the criminal justice system and have more than 30 years’ experience in studying and practicing restorative justice.

During the webinar, we will examine current RJ practices and programs in several US prisons and the role of residents and released persons in learning, teaching and practicing restorative justice through questions such as:

  • What role can formerly incarcerated individuals play in furthering the cause of RJ?
  • How can they work with victims to repair harms and restore relationships?
  • How can they promote RJ practices within prisons?
  • How do their journeys impact the practice and promotion of RJ in the communities in which they reside?

Guest Bios

greg winshipGregory Winship is a Restorative Justice Strategist and Training Manager for the Center for Conflict Resolution. He is a trained mediator, facilitator, practitioner and instructor. Winship was introduced to restorative justice principles more than 10 years ago and has more than 25 years of experience dealing with interpersonal conflict resolution in the criminal justice system. He oversees conflict resolution, trauma awareness and resilience and RJ programming in Missouri and Kansas prisons and in the United States Penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas.

Winship has been a guest speaker and program facilitator at prisons and/or universities in Nebraska, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio and California. He previously worked with a violence prevention program in Kansas City, Missouri as a Senior Administrative Assistant and Volunteer Coordinator. Gregory earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business Administration from Graceland University, a Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Leadership and a Master’s Degree in Restorative Justice from Eastern Mennonite University.

tyrone wertsIn 1975 Tyrone Werts was convicted as an accomplice to a second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole.

At the Pennsylvania State Correctional Institution at Graterford, a maximum security prison housing approximately 3,500 men, Werts spent the next 36 years of his life committed to improving himself and helping those around him discover their potential. During his incarceration, Werts earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Villanova University. He was heavily involved in developing the Temple University’s nationally renowned Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program and a founding member of its affiliated Think Tank group. He established The Lifers’ Public Safety Initiative, a crime prevention program that has received national and international attention and is based on the “Culture of Street Crime” theory he developed with other incarcerated men.

Werts’ contributions to and perspectives on criminal justice reform in the United States have been publicly acknowledged by organizations and agencies at local, state, and national levels. Werts is presently a The International Think Tank Coordinator for The Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program at Temple University and serves as a consultant for The Philadelphia Public Defenders Association. He is Founder and CEO of The Lifers End Crime Project, serves on the Mayor’s Commission on African American Males and is a Soros Justice Fellow 2013.