By Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy, Catholic Mobilizing Network*
Felix Rosado can pinpoint his moment of “awakening”: lying in a small bed in the restricted housing unit of a maximum security prison, he began to ask himself some tough questions. How did I get here? he wondered.
Felix’s life did not unfold as he planned. As a child, he attended Mass with his mother. He was an excellent student, selected for “gifted” programs.
But at just 18, he was confined to prison, having been convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
What happened? On Catholic Mobilizing Network’s “Encounters With Dignity” podcast (you can listen to the full episode here or watch this mini-documentary on his story here), Felix identified one particular moment as the key turning point: when he and his other young friends decided to smoke marijuana together. He would chase that high for years.
Felix had begun stealing from the corner store and shoplifting. He stole from cars, then it escalated to stealing the cars themselves. Soon he was dealing drugs, from cocaine to heroin. Caught up in this dangerous trade, he began carrying and using guns. This dangerous path ultimately led to his conviction and the grim sentence of death by incarceration.
The road to redemption was not immediate. Felix had stopped believing in God. And in the immediate aftermath of his conviction, he fled both accountability and reality. He claimed that he did not commit the crime. He lied. He changed his story repeatedly. He refused to come to terms with what he had done.
Looking back, he explains that “prison is the antithesis of accountability.” It offers punishment. It causes suffering. But, he notes, one does not have to face the harm they have inflicted. And for years, he looked away.
Felix’s turn from drugs and return to his Catholic faith would ultimately create a new path forward. After over a decade in prison, he met with a priest. He went to confession, then to Mass and received communion for the first time since he was a child.
He started to feel grounded again. Over time, he would become more and more involved in the Church community. As he was working to get on the right path, he enrolled in a bachelor’s degree program through Villanova University.
At this time in his life, Felix experienced another key turning point. He learned about the concept of restorative justice while reading the book “Transcending” by Howard Zehr. The book contains images of people whose lives have been upended by crime, including the murder of their loved ones. He describes looking at face after face and reading about their heartbreaking stories.
What Felix saw in these faces, for the first time, was the pain he had caused another family. He was suddenly awake to the full reality of what he had done and the harm he had caused. The human impact could no longer be ignored or denied. But that is not the end of the story.
With restorative justice, healing is prioritized over retribution or vengeance. There is hope and the possibility of forgiveness.
But it is not easy. It requires work, sometimes painful dialogue—to hear the suffering of those who have experienced profound tragedy. To admit and acknowledge the harm one has done. To come to terms with one’s brokenness and accept accountability, and to do what is possible to make amends.
If progress can be made toward living in right relationship with one another, hard work and vulnerability is required. For many, it seems easier to simply punish people and deny the possibility of redemption or restoration. For those who have committed crimes, it seems easier to deny what one has done and look away from the damage it has caused.
Yet, the Gospel calls us to walk down a more challenging, but ultimately more fruitful path.
Felix calls restorative justice “a Gospel way of doing justice.” It is a justice animated by human dignity and love that makes space for mercy and that has the potential to transform suffering and division into healing and wholeness.
Felix not only sought restorative justice in his own life, he started to spread the word about this life-changing philosophy and approach. He and Charles Boyd, another incarcerated man who shared his passion for restorative justice, developed a workshop called Let’s Circle Up, which they expanded upon and refined over time. The program grew in popularity.
Concurrently, Felix had been attempting to secure his own release from prison by applying to have his sentence commuted. And after years of efforts and 27 years in prison, he was granted freedom.
Upon his release, Felix’s work in restorative justice has continued. He currently serves as Healing Futures Program Manager at Youth Art & Self-Empowerment Project, a youth restorative justice diversion program in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Last year, he joined Chestnut Hill College as an adjunct professor, teaching students about restorative justice.
Felix’s life is a testament to the power of restorative justice. Where there was once hopelessness and suffering, there is now concrete action to build a more just, merciful world.
* Headquartered in Washington, D.C., Catholic Mobilizing Network is a national organization that mobilizes Catholics and people of goodwill to end the death penalty, advance justice solutions in alignment with Catholic values and promote healing through restorative justice approaches and practices. For more information, visit catholicsmobilizing.org.
