50 years later: Reckless rampage in Elmira, Ont., leads to restorative justice movement
This year marks the 50th anniversary of a drunken vandalism spree in Elmira, Ont. that changed the Canadian justice system forever.
Russell Kelly, who is now 67-years-old, sat down with CTV News Kitchener at his home on Tuesday to reflect on the transformative night in 1974.
He read a passage from his book titled “Scoundrel to Scholar,” recalling a visit with a friend.
“Of course, the real reason for the visit was to drink ourselves into a stupor,” Kelly said, reading a line from the novel.
At the time, he was 18 years old and turned to drugs and alcohol after losing both of his parents.
“If you don’t deal with that grief, it’s like burying a bomb,” he said.
That bomb eventually went off.
The two teenagers went on a reckless rampage though Elmira.
“Slashed 22 car tires, smashed front windows of homes, damaged a gazebo, smashed windows of cars,” said Kelly.
The teens were arrested, but instead of going to jail, a forward-thinking parole officer suggested a different punishment. He thought it would be beneficial to have the offenders meet their victims, apologize, and compensate them for any losses. The judge accepted that recommendation, so that’s exactly what the pair did.
“We accepted responsibility for what we had done. And now we’re holding ourselves accountable and we want to repair the harm,” said Kelly.
Now known as The Elmira Case, it became the first example of restorative justice used in the Canadian legal system. It focuses on repairing the harm done by the crime, rather than punishing the offender, which is now used in various forms around the world.
“In the event that it’s a first-time offense, which often it is, then it saves a person from having a criminal record going forward,” said Chris Cowie, executive director of Community Justice Initiatives (CJI).
That’s if all sides are satisfied with the process and outcome. There is a chance a judge may not be pleased with the response from the parties involved, and an offender could still face more serious consequences.
While Indigenous cultures have long used similar conflict resolution practices, The Elmira Case broke ground.
“What was unique about this was that it was actually court sanctioned,” Cowie said.
Although there have been positive outcomes from restorative justice, which Community Justice Initiatives has seen first-hand with their community involvement, the organization says there is more work to be done.
“There’s an inordinate number of people who are of colour and Indigenous who end up in our justice system,” said Cowie. “And over the first many years of CJI doing this kind of work, realized that most referrals that come our way look very much like what Russ and his friend did, namely two young white guys.”
They have been focused on adapting their program to be better at bringing offenders and victims together from all communities.
"CJI believes that the work of grassroots, BIPOC-led organizations need to be encouraged and empowered to meet the needs of their respective communities," Cowie said.
Kelly is advocating for the same thing. He wants to see people given the same chance he was.
“There can be healing on both sides.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
WATCH LIVE 'Sick to my stomach': People grieve Jasper National Park by sharing favourite photos
As an out-of-control wildfire roared through Alberta’s famed Jasper National Park and its townsite late Wednesday, many are fearing the worst as officials warned of 'significant loss' within the area.
LIVE UPDATES 'Hopefully it's better than what we're thinking': Jasper wildfire damage details anxiously awaited
Officials are waiting to learn Thursday morning the extent of wildfire damage in the Jasper townsite of Jasper National Park, which flames began to eat away at the night before.
Canadian women's soccer team staffer given suspended prison sentence over drone incident, prosecutor says
A Canada women's soccer team staffer has been given an eight-month suspended prison sentence after flying a drone to film the closed-door training session of the New Zealand team on Monday, the prosecutor's office said in a statement.
Sale of envoy's NYC condo 'expected to exceed' $9M: government
The current official residence for Canada's representative in New York City is 'being readied for sale,' according to a spokesperson from Global Affairs Canada.
Jasper wildfire burns buildings, while poor air quality forces some fire crews out
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on social media that Ottawa has approved Alberta's request for federal assistance after a fast-moving wildfire hit Jasper National Park and its townsite late Wednesday.
'I'm so broke': Two Toronto women speak out after losing $76,000 in romance scam
Two women from the Toronto area are speaking out after losing thousands of dollars to a romance scam, including a single mother who lost $62,000.
Barrie-Innisfil MPP 'blacked-out' and crashed car into window of child care centre
Staff at a Barrie child care centre say they are frustrated by what they call a local MPP's inadequate response after a car crashed through a window in one of the toddler rooms.
What the F1 grid for 2025 looks like so far: Max Verstappen commits, despite speculation
After French driver Esteban Ocon signed a contract Thursday to partner rookie Ollie Bearman at Haas, five Formula One teams have now completed their lineups for next season. Five seats at four teams remain unfilled.
Loblaw to settle class action over bread price-fixing for $500 million
Loblaw Cos. Ltd. and its parent company George Weston Ltd. say they have agreed to pay $500 million to settle a pair of class-action lawsuits regarding their involvement in an alleged bread price-fixing scheme.