With the number of people returning to prison being two thirds of those released, I repeatedly wonder if the efforts we make to bring peace and safety to our communities are effective. Our current justice system is punitive, the idea being that people will change if punished for the wrongs they do. However, it seems [...]

Last night we had graduation; six men graduated from our year-long program bringing our total number of graduates to 54. Each of our participants was encouraged to tell us how taking Nonviolent Communication (NVC) training in prison had affected their lives. Each man spoke of being less reactive and having better relationships with their families, [...]

Last night, my skill was tested, and I failed. During the third quarter of our year-long program in Oregon State Penitentiary we perform Mock Parole Board hearings. This mock parole hearings exercise enables those who are eligible for parole to practice their new skills in a situation that has enormous meaning for them; parole hearings [...]

I have been repeatedly struck that teaching NVC in Oregon prisons is about working with tragedy, and never so much as last night. We were hearing the story of a man whose father had repeatedly raped and brutalized him as a child. He was in prison because he had killed someone who he discovered was [...]