'Forgiven' one-punch killer named government adviser

A youth justice campaigner whose redemption story sold out theatres in London and New York has been appointed to advise the UK government.

Jacob Dunne was jailed for manslaughter for throwing a single punch that caused the death of a stranger in Nottingham city centre in July 2011.

The parents of his victim, paramedic James Hodgkinson, then asked for what is known as "restorative justice" and persuaded Dunne to turn his life around.

Now, he will advise ministers on how to use the same approach to improve youth justice across England and Wales.

The restorative justice system gave Hodgkinson's parents the opportunity to write to Dunne, to ask why he threw his fatal punch and make him confront the impact of his crime.

That led to a face-to-face meeting where they encouraged him to go to university and study criminology.

Eventually, Hodgkinson's mother, Joan Scourfield, took the step of publicly forgiving Dunne and joined him to campaign for restorative justice to be made available more widely.

Playwright James Graham turned their story into a hit play, Punch, which premiered at the Nottingham Playhouse before simultaneous runs in the West End and on Broadway.

Dunne, 34, now runs the Common Ground Justice Project and said he has been asked to act as an unpaid government advocate and adviser for the next 18 months.

He told the BBC that restorative justice is "one strategy in the toolbox" to help young offenders "give back" to their victims and society and to understand the harm they caused.

"I am extremely proud. This role is so exciting and important. It's an honour to be appointed by the government," he said.

"I'm starting with a clean slate, I know a lot about restorative justice but I don't want to assume I know everything".

Dunne's appointment has been welcomed by Scourfield, who told the BBC she "wishes him well" in the new role.

"I think he will be really good, he's seen it at first sight," she added.

Justice Minister Jake Richards described Dunne as a "great champion of restorative justice and someone who has experienced it".

He has been appointed as part of plans for a more preventative and evidence-led youth justice system designed to protect the public better and improve outcomes for children and victims.

The white paper states young people who offend should "truly understand the harm" that crime can cause, whether it was "littering or knife possession".

"We will therefore consider how best practice around restorative justice, where children make good on the harm they have caused, through constructive activity in the community or with victims, can be built upon and expanded," the paper continued.

"The story of Jacob Dunne shows the power of restorative justice - we will draw on him as an expert adviser to inform our youth justice policy-making and plans, starting with a roundtable event that he and the minister for youth justice will chair with frontline services and voluntary sector specialists in the summer".

Dunne said he has come a long way since restorative justice changed his own life more than a decade ago, adding that he could never have imagined what it would achieve.

"I would have thought that's impossible, but the impossible is possible with the right mindset and persistence," he said.

"Good things can happen from having difficult conversations.

"I'm here to provide the evidence about what works and what's going wrong.

"There are pockets of good practice across the country and my job is to make sure best practice is happening and rolled out nationally.

"This is about victims who don't feel heard (and) making our communities and streets safer".

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