RJI Endorses Derrick Jackson for Sheriff: Michigan (June 2023)
Derrick Jackson Endorsement for Sheriff: Washtenaw County, Michigan 2024
RJI has voted to endorse Derrick Jackson for Washtenaw County Sheriff in Michigan as he runs for Sheriff in 2024 (campaign cycle). Each candidate RJI endorses has responded to a rigorous RJI Candidate Questionnaire regarding his/her views on restorative justice, wrongful convictions, policing, and criminal justice reform. RJI’s Global Advisory Council, with representatives from 19 members from around the world, vote to endorse candidates seeking our endorsement.
Mr. Jackson is a social worker and certified police officer with 14 years’ experience as Director of the Washtenaw County’s Sheriff’s Office.
In response to RJI’s questionnaire, Mr. Jackson’s answered the following question regarding whether he supported victims-driven restorative justice:
Q. Do you support victims-driven restorative justice?
Yes. Why? What is justice if not to repair the harm done to those directly impacted? In my work at the Sheriff’s Office over the last 14-years I have often interacted with victims and their families. It’s common for
the courts to make a decision, those harmed to agree with the courts outcome, but still remain frustrated, fearful, or feeling as if justice was not served. I’ll never forget what it was like to have my home broken into and the impact it had on my young daughter. The person responsible was arrested, spent time in jail, and yet my daughter remained fearful knowing that the safety of our home had been violated. The person responsible happened to be a neighbor and when he was eventually released from custody he stopped me on the street to apologize. My daughter was in the car with me so she witnessed the entire interaction. I accepted his apology and simply asked him why he did it. Once he explained he struggled with addiction and that he was working on remaining sober and that he was sorry, the fear of the unknown was gone. I understood he wasn’t out to “get us” and I could help my daughter understand why this happened. That conversation was justice for us in this context. We didn’t need him to sit in jail to feel safe. We needed to understand why this happened and we needed to hear it directly from the person responsible.
For more information on Derrick Jackson for Sheriff 2024 see his website: