A murder transforms woman
into criminal justice reformer
BY LAYLA GARMS
THE CHRONICLE
It was a 2 a.m. phone
call in 2003 that shattered
Therese Bartholomew's
life.
It would be years
before the Charlotte resi
dent could begin to push
back against the crushing
f grief that accompanied the
news that Steve Leone, her
brother, confidant and best
friend, had been murdered
at a nightclub in South
Carolina. The killer, Karl
Staton, was apprehended
immediately, but ultimate
ly pleaded to a lesser
charge, serving a sentence
^ of just eight and half years.
Ironically, the very person
g who inflicted the devastat
?y ing loss upon
Bartholomew and her fam
ily would play a vital role
v* in her healing, an experi
5" ence that has prompted
Bartholomew to become
one of the country's most
outspoken advocates of
restorative justice.
"I had no idea that
f there was anything called
J restorative justice. I just
^ knew that I saw humanity
in him," Bartholomew
wj confesses in "The Final
Gift," a documentary film
she produced that chroni
cles her healing experi
ence. "...The second I
walked out of that prison
(after meeting with
Staton), I felt lighter, I felt
like something had been
lifted off my shoulders."
Today, Bartholomew
and her husband Doug, a
co-executive producer of
the film, crisscross the
nation, telling
Bartholomew's deeply
personal story - which she
also recounts in the mem
oir "Coffee Shop God" -
and extolling the virtues of
restorative justice, which
Bartholomew says has the
power to heal by putting
the control back into the
hands of the victim.
"Restorative justice, in
a tiny, tiny sound bite,
really says that crime dam
ages relationships," she
told Winston-Salem State
University Justice Studies
students last week after
they viewed the film. "It
hurts people, right? And
communities. So what can
we do to come to a place
of healing?"
For Bartholomew, the
answer was the book,
where she first began to
pour out her pain, the film.
. which began as a series of
video diaries and blos
somed into a full fledged
documentary, and sitting
across the table from
Staton in a South Carolina
prison, where she laid bare
the anguish that he had
caused her family.
Though she says she
had forgiven Staton long
before she set foot in the
prison, being able to look
him in the eye and tell him
how her life had been
wrecked by his actions
was therapeutic for her.
While each case is unique,
Bartholomew firmly
believes that putting a
human face on crime can
be helpful for both the vic
tim and the perpetrator.
"The problem with our
criminal justice system is
we create abstracts and
adversaries. The victim
becomes abstract to the
offender - the offender
really doesn't see what he
or she has done." she stat
ed. "...In my case, I really
needed to sit in a room ...
with this person who had
hurt me so much . and my
family. I needed to see that
abstract turn into some
thing real. For me, that
was the critical piece."
The adversarial nature
of the American justice
system takes the focus
away from the victim in
many cases, and robs both
victim and perpetrator of
the opportunity to heal and
learn from the experience,
Bartholomew said. When
those who are adversely
affected by a crime don't
find adequate ways to
understand and heal from
the experience, they
become what
Bartholomew calls "forev
er victims," often living
out the rest of their lives
under the shadow of one
horrific act. Bartholomew,
who obtained a master's
degree in criminal justice
from UNC Charlotte after
Leone's murder, said
offenders who don't have
to face the havoc that they
have created are often
desensitized to the true
cost of their actions.
"It's really hard for
people to understand that
this is smart justice; it's
not being soft on crime,"
she said. "It's being victim
centered and looking at the
true impact of crime."
Bartholomew will be
the first to assert that noth
tng could repair the agony
she still feels at the loss of
Leone, with whom
Bartholomew was so close
that she regarded him as a
part of herself. Still, she
said she is heartened that,
through her grief, she is
finding ways to help others
who have suffered similar
fates as an advocate of
restorative justice.
"I would never choose
for my brother to be shot
in the chest. I would take
him back any second of
any day. I would trade him
for every possible thing in
my life," she declared. "...
But there's something
good coming out of all of
this."
Joy Saunders, a senior
justice studies major at
WSSU, said she was
impressed by
Bartholomew's coura
geous quest to reclaim her
life after the tragedy.
Saunders, an aspiring
prosecutor, said the con
cept of restorative justice
makes a lot of sense to her.
"I think it's a great
concept, something that
we should continue to do,
not even just with criminal
matters, but just being able
to forgive in general,"
remarked the 21 year-old.
"That could stop a lot of
crime in itself, if people
weren't so vengeful."
Dr. Jack Monell. an
assistant professor in the
department, said he read
Bartholomew's book
"many moons ago." and
was deeply impacted by
her story.
"As a criminologist
and as a social worker, it's
emotional," he said of
viewing the film. "In prac
tice, this is what we hope
and strive for, helping vic
tims heal."
For more information
about Bartholomew and
her work, visit www.the re
sebartholomew.com.
Photos by Layla Garms
Therese Bartholomew speaks to students.
I ?1 * > I
Saunders
Dr. Monell
Award
from page A6
"It places both Joseph
and UNCSA Film School
in a very positive light,"
said Ackerman. who has
served as the director of
photography on
"Beetlejuice," "Jumanji"
and more than 30 other
feature films.
"Tale Fight was writ
ten and directed by lan
Michael Gullet and pro
duced by Bernice Miller,
both of Winston-Salem. It
centers around a worn out
veteran who inherits his
old boxing coach's gym.
His will to fight is reignit
ed when he faces a chal
lenge for the gym's owner
ship.
Blankinship is current
ly working as camera oper
ator on the student film
"Starlight" and as director
of photography for the stu
dent film "So Long
Charlie." He is student
body president, a voting
member of the UNCSA
Board of Trustees and a
member of the Chancellor
Search Committee.
Murders
from page /t.t
elected officials and com
munity leaders are work
ing tirelessly to reduce
the toll of domestic vio
lence. Yet despite these
efforts, the numbers
remain unacceptably
high. We need new poli
cies in place from local
communities to the feder
al government to protect
women from harm."
"Nine women each
week are shot to death by
their husband or intimate
partner," said Shannon
Watts, founder of Moms
Demand Action for Gun
Sense in America.
"That's nearly 500
domestic gun violence
deaths each year ? more
than twice the number of
servicewomen killed in
military conflicts since
the Korean War. We
urgently need better poli
cies that protect women
and their families from
this senseless violence.
No American, adult or
I
child, should live in a
perpetual state of fear.
II s innumane.
Nationwide, ["
a total of 1,707
females were'
murdered by
males in single
victim/single
offender inci
dents in 2011, at I
a rate of 1.17
per 100,000.
The study
also ranks each
state based on
the homicide rate for
females murdered by
males. In 2011, South
Carolina led the nation
Watts
with a rate of 2.54 per
100,000. North Carolina
I
was zznu,
with a rate of
1.23 homi
cides per
10 0.0 0 0
women. There
were 61
female homi
cide victims in
the Tarheel
State in 2011.
To view the
full report,
v / s i t
http://www.vpc org/stud
ies/wmmw2013 .pdf.
/^Seniors on^/
Available the first week
of every month in
The Chronicle
YouthBuild
from page At
Lessons in leadership
and life skills are woven
into the program, said
McKoy, who likes that
the program allows par
ticipants to put the skills
they'll learn to use by
transforming a rundown
house into someone's
new home.
"The work "
you do mat
ters," he said.
"You're not
going to build a
model house;
you're not
going to build a
dog house; I
you're building I
real houses that
people are
going to live in
and people
have dreamed
about living
in."
YouthBuild
participants
will be City
employees dur
ing their six
months of
training, as
such, they will
have tirst cuds applying
for City jobs. But, as
McKoy told interested
applicants, the skills
taught in the program can
be used at construction
sites throughout the state
and beyond.
"The skills you learn
on that construction site,
they translate into wher
ever you go," McKoy
said.
Anthony "TC"
Cannon conducts the
construction training. He
formerly taught the City's
Section 3 Construction
Training Program
Initiative, a similar pro
gram for 18-35 year-olds
with high school diplo
mas or GEDs that
YouthBuild replaced.
Cannon said most of his
former students hold a
variety of City positions
and some have even start
ed their own businesses.
He said he sees potential
Cannon
1
McCray
in the initial YouthBuild
class, which began in late
August.
"They're really turn
ing their lives around. I
have seen a change in two
months," Cannon said. "I
have some that didn't
have it in themselves.
Now, they have it in
themselves, and they're
sticking with it."
Daiquan Adams and
Joe McCray are
among those
now receiving
training in the
first
Yo u t h B u i 1 d
class. They
attended the
Sims Center
session last
week talk
about the pro
gram. Both of
the young men
were seniors
when' they
dropped out of
high school
last year.
Adams said he
fell behind in
his work;
McCray said
he wasn't
doing well and
wasn't getting
along with his teachers.
YouthBuild is providing
them with a second
chance, they said.
Adams said it's been a
tremendous opportunity
"because of the education
you're getting and when
the two weeks come, it's
payday."
McCray gave the pro
gram high marks.
" It feels good to
have this badge on," he
said, holding his City
employee ID.
The first YouthBuild
program began in East
Harlem, N Y. in 1978.
There are now 273 pro
grams in 46 states.
Washington, D.C. and the
U.S. Virgin Islands.
YouthBuild's next
enrollment period will be
early next year. For more
information, call 336
734-1283.
Generations of Hope: it Takes a Village To Raise a Child
Saturday, Nov. 9, registration 9:30 a.m. ? program 10 a.m.-noon
Whether this is your first baby or your third grandchild, join us for a lively
and informative discussion on this exciting new phase of your life. Learn
how to successfully navigate your evolving role as a parent or grandparent.
We'll also cover topics including health and nutrition for your changing
body and the use of stress management techniques. Refreshments and
giveaways will be provided.
What Our Mothers, Sisters and Girlfriends Never Told Us
Thursday, Nov. 14,6-8 p.m.
Join obstetrician and gynecologist Deirdre Bland, MD, as she shares
expert advice about pelvic floor disorder - including signs, symptoms
and treatment options. This event is for women who may be experiencing
urinary leakage or difficulty in bladder emptying, chronic constipation,
aching or bulging sensations in the lower abdomen, and/or pelvic pain.
Both events are free and open to the public
Call 718-7000 for more information and to register
Novant Health Conference Center
3333 Silas Creek Parkway
Winston-Salem, NC
Nfl NOVANT
B HEALTH