On April 25, community members from across North Carolina gathered at Peace Haven Baptist Church in Winston-Salem for Returning to the Circle, a day focused on restorative justice and collective healing.
More than thirty people joined, many with deep ties to the former Capital Restorative Justice Project. Though that effort concluded several years ago, its influence remains evident in the relationships that continue to bring people back together.
Participants traveled from across the state and beyond to attend. Death row exonerees, people whose loved ones faced execution or remain on death row, family members of those lost to homicide, and a few close friends sat shoulder-to-shoulder. The room reflected the wide reach of the death penalty.
Several people who joined the event, exonerees and members of NCCADP’s Survivor Family Engagement Group (SFEG), regularly raise their voices of experiences to speak against the death penalty. They share their stories, their grief, and a window into some of the most difficult moments of their lives when they speak at NCCADP programs across the state. These are, without a doubt, the strongest leaders in our movement, and although they do it willingly, it is a burden. In contrast, this day was about their personal and collective healing. It was about community.
Leah Wilson-Hartgrove, Noel Nickle, and Lynda Simmons facilitated Circles throughout the day, drawing on years of experience in restorative practice and community-centered advocacy.
We began the day in a large Circle. One by one, people introduced themselves and named who they had come to honor through their presence. They placed photographs and mementos in the center as a memorial that remained throughout the day. The group set clear expectations for respect and presence, and Jodi McLaren led the room in song.
The first facilitated activity invited reflection through art. Lynda Simmons, an artist who lost her son to homicide, introduced a prompt: I am someone who… Participants created collages on puzzle piece-shaped paper using words and images that spoke to them and reflected who they are.
We paused for a meal and enjoyed time for unstructured conversation. When people connect for the first or after long stretches of time apart, this time together can be as important as any activity.
After lunch, the group returned to the Circle to read their statements aloud and share the meaning behind their collage. Many spoke about love, justice, grief, and the ongoing effort to remain connected in the face of harm. Grief, folks shared, isolates. Community, on the other hand, interrupts that isolation.
As each person finished speaking, they placed their puzzle piece at the center of the circle.
An uneven mosaic formed. Each piece reflected a unique life and story, but alongside other collaged puzzle pieces, they showed how loss and connection intersect. Meaning shifts when it is placed in relation to others.
A Different Approach
The gathering offered a clear contrast to the framework underpinning the death penalty.
The state continues to invest significant resources in capital punishment, often justified as a measure that delivers safety or closure. Participants challenged that premise through lived experience. Many have spent years navigating the legal system, witnessing how it addresses harm and how it falls short.
Returning to the Circle offered a different approach. Restorative justice centers those most affected by harm and prioritizes accountability and healing. Throughout the day, participants practiced these principles directly. They listened without interruption. They spoke about loss and responsibility. They engaged one another with the understanding that harm cannot be addressed through isolation or retribution alone.
Reflecting on the power of the day, one participant shared that its potency came from “a sense of community of people on both sides, knowing that we still are one.” What more is there to say?
Closing in Reflection
The afternoon concluded with music and group reflection. In one word, folks named what they were taking with them: gratitude, joy, peace, hope, resilience, community.
For those who stayed, a final Circle extended the work. This session, led by Lynda Simmons and filmed as part of an upcoming documentary, focused on identifying and honoring each person’s sense of inner light. Participants reflected on moments when they feel most connected to that sense of self, then created lanterns as a visual expression of that.
We dimmed the lights as everyone raised their lanterns. Light spread across the dark room.
Sustaining the Work
In addition to the leadership of Leah, Lynda, Noel, and Jodi, volunteers made Returning to the Circle possible. Special thanks to the NCCADP Survivor Family Engagement Group, who have envisioned this day for over a year.
Thanks also to Rev. Nathan Parrish and Peace Haven Baptist Church, who offered a welcoming space for our gathering, and to the Hartgrove family, who graciously provided a delicious home-cooked dinner.
The gathering was funded by the Unitarian Universalist Fund for a Just Society, an investment in community-based approaches to justice.
For NCCADP, this work is central. Ending the death penalty requires policy change. It also requires a shift in how people understand and live out justice. That will only ever be possible through the leadership of those most proximate to injustice.
On April 25 in Winston-Salem, this community chose – and made real – a different way forward.
