Sixty-three-year-old lawyer Doug Ford tries to exercise every day – often skating or riding a bike on the rural roads near his home north of Charlottesville.
“I’ve been here 20 years, and I’ve ridden on the roads all over the place and not had much of a problem," he says.
But in February of 2023 he was roller skiing when a local stone mason, Jesse Morris, came up from behind in his pick-up truck.
“I was rushing – trying to get to Battery Plus," he recalls. "I was watching the Google Maps – trying to type it in, and before I realized it, I struck a man.”
Ford was knocked into a ditch with a broken arm, elbow, shoulder blade, ribs and ankle. Morris panicked and drove away, but people passing by rushed to help. The victim would spend several days in the hospital and needed many weeks to recover.
Morris, who had joint custody of his two young children, feared he would lose them if his crime was discovered, but he felt terrible and worried about Ford.
“I looked at the news and prayed for him and didn’t hear anything about it for a while, and then one day the cops showed up, and they were questioning me about it, so I told them I did it.”
Ford was angry – thinking Morris had hit him on purpose.
“There is always a handful of people who think they have a God-given right to pavement, and that non-motorized vehicles should be on it.”
But when he met Morris in court, he realized it was an accident.
“He wrote me a note at one point, saying he was sorry, saying – could he do anything for me. He expressed real regret and sorrow when we met.”
And Ford knew distracted driving was a common problem.
“You know, people buried in the phone. That could be all sorts of people. That could be a mother turning around to check on her kids in the back seat.”
The prosecutor in the case told Ford about a new program that would allow him and the man who hit him to avoid a trial and find another way for Morris to make amends. Fritz Hudson with the non-profit Central Virginia Community Justice explains the concept.
“You’re not the worst thing you’ve ever done. Whoever it is who has caused someone injury has the potential to give comfort to the person who has been injured and also assure the community that kind of behavior will not be repeated.”
The process begins with meetings between facilitators like Hudson and his co-director Erin Campbell.
“They’re meeting individually with the person who caused the harm and the person who was harmed to explore the main restorative questions which are: What happened? What were the impacts of that on you? What do you think the impacts were on the other person? What were the root causes, and what is needed to move forward in repair, healing and safety so this never happens again.”
Facilitators also have to ensure that those accused of crimes are ready to take responsibility for what they did.
“Often those who are responsible for harm are labeled as bad, and therefore they are not going to want to step into accountability. They’re often counseled in court to not take responsibility, to not make a personal connection with the harmed person. Don’t look at them. When you treat a responsible person with dignity, they’re often more willing to admit, 'Okay, I did this,' and accountability is huge!"
And they need to know that victims are ready to make a deal. Doug Ford wanted Jesse Morris to remind drivers that by law they must share the road and focus solely on driving.
“What I wanted was some sort of community impact that would just make the road safer for all of us.”
Morris readily agreed to tell his story at 25 events around Charlottesville and Albemarle County, although the idea of public speaking was scary.
“Yes ma’am! The first three were a little rocky,” he says.
“I think what he’s doing is great,” adds Ford. “I certainly wouldn’t want to have to do what he’s doing. He’s talking about his worst mistake in front of strangers.”
Other cases have been settled with different solutions. Sometimes the victims of crime want to be compensated for medical bills and other expenses. They might insist the offender take an anger management class, get therapy or use their creative gifts in new ways.
“We’ve had a young person who made an art piece for a local business that was vandalized,“ Campbell recalls.
So far, 160 people have taken part in the restorative justice program, and Campbell says it seems to be working. She could think of only one case where someone accused of crime committed another offense. Jesse Morris has completed 21 of his public speaking engagements – including this interview – and feels good about teaching his children by example so that when they become drivers, they and others on the road will be safer.
