Leading from the front issuu

#PAT-SPEAK
The big question is, how do you go from ignorance to enlightenment? Do we
accept that we are what we are and not bother to try and evolve? Surely doing
the same old thing is ridiculous. Very few of the staff from the social agencies
who direct people to the court come and see the results. Most of the people in
court, going before the system and through it, aren’t bad people, they’re just not
coping. Putting a Māori judge in the court isn’t going to fix it either.
PAT’S FRESH, UNENCUMBERED PENAL
ABSOLUTIONISM: NO MORE PRISONS
by hon. russ immarigeon
town court justice
hillsdale, ny, usa
When Pat and I first met over two decades ago, prison
populations were much, much smaller in both New
Zealand and the United States than they are now. At the
time I had been kindly invited to come to New Zealand,
about which I then knew very little, to talk about alternatives
to incarceration.
To talk effectively about alternatives to prison, you
need to believe that prisons are overused and that, simply
put, there are better ways and means for responding
to crime and its consequences. Like me, Pat believed
that, plus he was very cheerful and friendly.
I forget where we first met, but I suspect it was in
Napier, a small, warm, walkable city I can still picture
several decades later. When we first met, I was immediately
embraced with Pat’s fresh, unencumbered penal
abolitionism. Pat’s simple message, “No more prisons,”
remains a wise and necessary message, even more so
considering Pat’s message comes not from academic
study or even “correctional experience,” but from basic
human decency, a motive for action deserving much
more appreciation.
Pat, as I recall, was instrumental in starting the Robson
Collection at the Napier Public Library. I was at the
collection’s opening, a wonderful affair, and Pat has remained
a strong advocate of it for all these many years.
I wish Pat and the collection, both, a long, long life span.
Over the years, Pat has kept in communication. At one
point, I am not good at remembering dates, Pat visited
my wife Gretchen and me here in Hillsdale on one of his
world tours.
His world tours, seeking out more information about
penal abolition, were self-guided and self-funded. In
venturing forth, he brought with him an enlivened spirit
and a bottomless cup of energy. And a wonderful smile
and great laugh. I’m sure I don’t speak only for myself,
but these are generous resources to receive and witness.
On this day, and into the future, I say to Pat: te mihi mo
te mea he marika nui
– thank you for being a great friend.
Restorative Justice – for an unjust justice system 169