CBA Record March-April 2022

CBA RECORD

LETTER TO THE EDITOR BY JUDGE SHEILA M. MURPHY ( RET. ) Remembering Archbishop Desmond Tutu

EDITORIAL BOARD EDITOR - IN - CHIEF Justice Michael B. Hyman Illinois Appellate Court

ASSOCIATE EDITOR Anne Ellis Proactive Worldwide, Inc.

I n the last issue of the CBA Record , Judge E. KennethWright, Jr., recalled Archbishop Desmond M. Tutu’s appearance at a CBA luncheon during Wright’s presidency. Th e Archbishop came to speak at the CBA that day because of a series of events that began several years before, when I represented Dominique Green, a young black man await ing execution in Texas. Dominque read Archbishop Tutu’s book No Future without Forgiveness in the silence of his cell. He read the book carefully; the Arch bishop’s words had a cathartic e ff ect on him. From then on, Dominique understood that we are all connected, that “a person is a person through other persons,” and that “[t]o dehumanize another inexorably means that one is dehumanized as well.” Dominique let go of his anger and grudges and resent ment. He rose to forgive everyone who hurt him and help others on death row evict hate and welcome forgiveness. Federal law prohibited further motions in Dominique’s case. So, instead of being his lawyer, I became his “mother.” I wondered, what would it be like if Dominique could meet Archbishop Tutu? After all, the Arch bishop’s book had opened Dominique’s heart. Dominique memorized some of the words of the book: “ Th us to forgive is indeed the best form of self-interest since anger, resent ment, and revenge are corrosive… of that greatest good, communal harmony that enhances the humanity and personhood of all in the community.” Dominique read these words over and over until they became a part of his being. Author Th omas Cahill visited Dominique and was astonished at the spirituality of this young man facing death. I knew that Tom was a great friend of Archbishop Tutu. He called Archbishop Tutu and told him about Dominique. On a trip to the United States, the Archbishop visited the prison and spoke kindly to every prison guard. Th e guards were part of humanity or, in the words of the Archbishop, “Ubuntu.”

In his short life, Dominique shared his joy with ArchbishopTutu and me, and we talked and prayed together. Th ere was laughter, too. On October 28, 2004, Dominique’s last words to me were, “Continue the struggle to help people, especially children; know that they are part of humanity, that forgiveness can help the community no matter what.” Four years later, as CBA president, Judge Wright had invited my brother, Dr. Martin J. Murphy, Jr., to speak on wellness. Judge Wright toldMarty about his dream of having ArchbishopTutu address the Association, but that no one knew how to make that happen. Marty suggested Judge Wright talk to me. I contacted the Archbishop and he accepted with a caveat. “I will come, but you must help the people of Chicago learn forgiveness, and this will bring peace.” He said that Chicago needs restorative justice, which begins with forgiveness. And after forgiveness, comes repairing the harm. While restorative justice is becoming a part of our justice fabric, Chicago still needs to embrace forgiveness, still needs to develop public policies to repair the harm. But more than that, all of us need to follow the teach ings and the life example of Archbishop Desmond M. Tutu.

SUMMARY JUDGMENTS EDITOR Daniel A. Cotter Howard and Howard Attorneys PLLC

YLS JOURNAL EDITORS Jacob B. Berger Tabet DiVito & Rothstein LLC Kaitlin King

Hart David Carson LLP Theodore Kontopoulos BKD LLP

Carolyn Amadon Samuel, Son & Co. Daniel J. Berkowitz Illinois Attorney General’s Of fi ce Amy Cook Amy Cook Law LLC Nina J. Fain Janet Sugerman Schirn Family Trust Anthony F. Fata Cafferty Clobes Meriwether & Sprengel LLP Cli ff ord Gately Judge Jasmine Villa fl or Hernandez Circuit Court of Cook County Lynn Semptimphelter Kopon Kopon LLC John Levin Kathryn C. Liss DePaul University College of Law Bonnie McGrath Law Of fi ce of Bonnie McGrath Clare McMahon Hoffenberg & Block LLC Pamela S. Menaker Clifford Law Of fi ces Kathleen Dillon Narko Northwestern Pritzker School of Law Alexander Passo Latimer LeVay Fyock LLC Adam J. Sheppard Sheppard Law Firm, PC Richard Lee Stavins Robbins, Saloman & Patt, Ltd. Rosemary Simota Thompson

Sh e i l a M. Mu r p h y, a retired Cook County Circuit Court judge, is co-director of the Restor ative Justice Project at the UIC Law and co-editor of Readings of Restorative Justice, Vandeplas Publish ing, 2021.

A special note: I had just left the bench and was of counsel to Rothschild. Barry and Myers. Partners Ed Rothschild and John Co ff ey encouraged me to take the case. Assisting me were two law students from JohnMarshall Law School, Andy Lofthouse and RuthYacona, now Lofthouse, and a recently admitted lawyer, Ginger Odom, who currently serves as the Director of the Expungement Unit at the O ffi ce of the State Appellate Defender.

Judge E. Kenneth Wright, Jr. Circuit Court of Cook County

THE CHICAGO BAR ASSOCIATION Sharon Nolan Director of Marketing

4 March/April 2022