Restorative justice resolves alleged assault at Indiana lake

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A judge says restorative justice was successfully used in Indiana to remediate a confrontation in which a Black man said a group of white men assaulted him and threatened to “get a noose” while at a southern Indiana lake more than a year ago.

The alleged assault gained national attention in July 2020 when Vauhxx Booker, a local civil rights activist and member of the Monroe County Human Rights Commission, said he called 911 after five men assaulted him and pinned him to a tree at Lake Monroe, just south of Bloomington.

Judge Lance Hamner said it was the first time he’s seen a criminal case resolved through restorative justice, a process that includes a conference between the offender and victim and which gives the offender an opportunity to apologize.

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