Automatic language translation
Our website uses an automatic service to translate our content into different languages. These translations should be used as a guide only. See our Accessibility page for further information.
Restorative Justice: a chance to ask why
18 AUGUST 2025
Restorative Justice is a powerful program run by Corrective Services NSW that offers victims of crime the chance to seek answers, express the impact of their trauma, and to hopefully find some peace. It also gives offenders the opportunity to take personal responsibility and confront the human consequences of their actions.
A mother’s courage
In 2016, Dylan Bailey murdered his friend Guy Henderson. Diagnosed with multiple mental health disorders, Bailey claimed no memory of the event and pleaded guilty, receiving a 21-year sentence. While in prison, he learned about Restorative Justice and requested to meet Guy’s mother, Angela (name changed).
After extensive preparation with Restorative Justice facilitators, Angela agreed. The meeting allowed her to share the pain of her loss, and Bailey to express remorse. “It was one of the most moving experiences of my life,” Angela said. Bailey, who lives with autism, vowed never to drink alcohol again. “I swore to Angela, and to Guy’s memory, that I will never consume a drop of alcohol again.”
How the program works
Restorative Justice provides a structured, voluntary process for victims and offenders to meet after sentencing. Victims can ask questions only the offender can answer, and offenders can offer apologies and explore how to make amends.
A story of forgiveness
A more recent and nationally known example involves Danny Abdallah, who lost three of his children - Antony (13), Angelina (12), and Sienna (8) - along with their cousin Veronique Sakr (11), in the 2020 Oatlands tragedy. Samuel Davidson, intoxicated and drug-affected, drove his ute onto a footpath, killing the children instantly and injuring three others. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Many Australians were stunned when Danny and his wife Leila publicly forgave Davidson. In a powerful moment of reconciliation, Danny later met Davidson at the correctional centre where he is currently serving his sentence. Captured by 7NEWS Spotlight, the emotional encounter revealed Davidson’s remorse and Danny’s long journey toward forgiveness.
“What I witnessed inside those walls is something I never expected to see,” said journalist Michael Usher. “It challenges everything we think we know about restorative justice, remorse and forgiveness.”
A structured process
Deputy Commissioner Security and Custody Leon Taylor explains: “Restorative Justice provides the opportunities for victims to ask many of the questions they would never have been able to ask an offender before, around the crime. ‘What were you thinking? Why did you do what you did?’ For the offender, it is an opportunity to really confront the consequences of their crime and an opportunity to provide an apology, to show remorse.”
Restorative Justice facilitators are specially trained to manage these sensitive interactions. Meetings are held in safe, private spaces and can last several hours. The process is confidential, voluntary, and cannot be used for legal gain.
Corrective Services NSW receives around 60 Restorative Justice referrals annually, with about 67% progressing to intervention. For many, it becomes a turning point offering healing, understanding, and sometimes, forgiveness.
Related
Last updated:
We acknowledge Aboriginal people as the First Nations Peoples of NSW and pay our respects to Elders past, present, and future.
Informed by lessons of the past, Department of Communities and Justice is improving how we work with Aboriginal people and communities. We listen and learn from the knowledge, strength and resilience of Stolen Generations Survivors, Aboriginal Elders and Aboriginal communities.
You can access our apology to the Stolen Generations.