“My name is Eric Boldiszar. Ive been at Handlon since 2007. I am 35 right now.”
Boldiszar is one of the students who organized Calvin College’s 2ndAnnual West Michigan Restorative Justice Conference this past weekend. He’s talking to me from a small teleconference room in the Richard A. Handlon Correctional Facility in Ionia Michigan, where he is serving a life sentence. Last Spring, he completed sixty credits and received his Associate’s degree in ministry leadership and social work
“It’s something I never thought would happen especially in prison. Its an amazing thing. Its an opportunity that a lot of guys don’t get. Something that we need to make more available.”
It was through the Calvin College Prison Initiative that he was able to enroll in courses, taught in person by Calvin College professors, and that he and his classmates organized the conference.
“How can we restore victims? How can we restore offenders? How can we restore the community? Instead of just locking up and throwing away the key?”
He says the framework of restorative justice is about a new way to deal with crime, consequences and punishment. Boldiszar and his classmates picked State Representative, David LaGrand, as one of the keynote speakers. LaGrand challenged those in attendance to consider how punishment would change if the focus was on the victims.
“Who is hurt, and how can we heal the hurt? And if you ask those questions you are much more focused on what victims need and what victims want and much less focused on incarceration and the punishment end of things.”
Although Boldiszar doesn’t expect his sentence to change, says he’s hopeful that he can give back to the community.
Michelle Jokisch Polo, WGVU News
