ST. PAUL, Minn. — On Friday, April 25, Senator Sandy Pappas (DFL-St. Paul) ushered a bill to bipartisan passage on the Senate floor that will improve Minnesota’s restorative justice processes, in a vote of 64-0.
SF 2200 makes information obtained from a restorative justice practice inadmissible in court, similar to how courts treat information from therapists, mediators and religious leaders. When crime victims and survivors choose a restorative justice practice over legal action, their perpetrator has the opportunity to take accountability or apologize in a way that provides closure to the people they hurt. However, many do not engage deeply in the process for fear that their admission of guilt may leave them vulnerable to further charges. This bill ensures that information obtained during a restorative justice process is not used in legal charges and enables more sincere engagement in the process, by victims and perpetrators.
Senator Pappas releases the following statement:
“Restorative justice practices create a space where people who are navigating the aftermath of a crime can engage with honesty and vulnerability. This will particularly help survivors of sexual violence, who are often failed by the legal system and whose only hope of closure comes through restorative practices. By protecting data from restorative practices and removing the fear that an apology may result in a legal charge, this bill helps perpetrators to take accountability and give victims what they’re not currently receiving from the legal system: validation. Survivors of sexual violence want this bill because they want a chance to be heard and believed. I am glad that today we are showing victims that their needs matter.”
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