A Day of Healing was celebrated at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center’s Lower Yard in April. The day is part of Crime Victims’ Rights Week, and for the last three years community members and victims’ rights organizations have come to discuss the effects crime has had in their lives.
“It was really hard to hear actual victims talk about how they lost loved ones in their life. I know I am responsible for causing someone else harm and I feel horrible because I took someone’s life,” resident Michael Thompson said.
Prior to the event, 33 residents, guests and administrators gathered for a healing circle, meditation, reflection, healing, and discussions on accountability. The circle was a safe space for survivors and residents to express themselves and work toward resolution, reconciliation, and emotional restoration.
“Forgiving myself helped me to move forward and take responsibility for my crime. Events like this show how healing is possible for victims and offenders,” Thompson said.
Mick Gardner, co-founder of No More Tears, a San Quentin program that focuses on areas such as victim impact, co-facilitated the healing circle. Gardner talked about the importance of recognizing harm done in communities and the ways in which the event translated to honoring survivors and victims.
“This is very important to us. I started [working for CDCR] when it was really tough on crime, however I have evolved a lot,” Warden Chance Andes said. “Since getting to SQ, I have never seen such accountability.”
At the start of the healing circle residents were asked if you could speak to someone impacted in your past what would you say.
Several residents spoke about being in denial and said that given the chance to speak to their victims, they would apologize and take accountability for their actions. Others talked about how they understand the impact their crime had on victims.
“[The] healing circle was a profound moment of peace and accountability on a collective level. I have been a part of healing circles before but there was a great serenity and respect. Victims and survivors shared experiences and a commonality of traumas,” resident Clinton Lorenzo Moore said.
Californians for Safety and Justice Executive Director Tinisch Hollins talked about her experience coming into San Quentin 20 years ago, while acknowledging her reason for having attended this late April event.
“I share my story to empower people to know your next decision can heal someone and can help prevent the next person from experiencing what I feel,” Hollins said.
Participants silently circled the Lower Yard’s baseball field to show solidarity for survivors and victims. Staff members and guests carried placards with messages in various languages made by residents, representing unity and togetherness, all for the same cause: To heal, not harm. Residents laid colored ribbons that represented the various crimes they committed on a paper canvas.
Outside guest Kisai Henriquez said she does social justice work with the youth outside the prison. “I realize how much your inner child needs space to breathe and healing. Often we perpetuate harm because we do not get to do [cognitive behavior] work and the youth are looking for guidance and protection.”
She said society needs more spaces for healing and how she believes it can happen anywhere. “You can cultivate a space that is nurturing, healing, and sows seeds for change,” Henriquez said.
Resident Aaron Morton said he was nervous to be in a space where he had to be vulnerable. He said he drew inspiration from formerly incarcerated Floyd Collins and Sol Mercado who attended and spoke.
“I felt relief and accepted. I realized how wrong it was for me to commit murder and I have to be accountable for that,” Morton said.
