Derrick Franke Facilitates First Ever Taped Victim/Offender Dialogue in Indiana's History

June 20, 2019

CNN aired the season finale of their original series The Redemption Project on Sunday June 16th. Each episode in the series follows a story of an offender, their victim(s), and their mutual search for healing. The season finale followed the two surviving sons of a man who was murdered and their first interaction with the person who killed their father since the trail concluded over ten years ago. Derrick Franke was the facilitator of the victim/offender dialogue.

Producers of the show reached out to Derrick in March of 2018. They had heard of Derrick through his work in restorative justice, particularly his experience in facilitating victim/offender dialogues (Derrick has conducted over 200 facilitations in the past decade). After months of planning, they were able to schedule a time to facilitate what would be the first ever filmed victim/offender dialogue in Indiana’s history.

Before agreeing to partner with the team at Citizen Jones, the company producing The Redemption Project, Derrick wanted to ensure that they were taking the process seriously. He wanted to ensure that if the participants decided that they were not ready or did not want the interaction to be on camera that the team would agree to halt production. Derrick says that he was concerned because if the process is not handled correctly, the encounters can cause more harm than good. Looking back on the experience, Derrick says that he cannot express how impressed he was with the entire production team and that they all understood the magnitude and importance of the work they were all doing.

Going forth, Derrick hopes that the Redemption Project will change the hearts and minds of those who are watching and help advance restorative justice here in Michigan and across the United States.