Jeremy BallEast Midlands social affairs correspondent
BBC
Joan Scourfield forgave the man whose single punch caused her son’s death
Joan Scourfield understands why audiences find it extraordinary to see her hugging the man who caused her son’s death.
James Hodgkinson never recovered from a serious head injury after he was punched to the ground in Nottingham.
Now his mother, a nurse in Derby, campaigns with the man who threw that single punch in 2011.
Her story of forgiveness in the face of a heartbreaking tragedy has become a sell-out theatre show in both London and New York.
Joan Scourfield
Joan’s son, James Hodgkinson, 28, was training to be a paramedic in Southampton
Joan says James, 28, was a loving son who dreamt of becoming an ambulance paramedic and enjoyed adventure sports such as wakeboarding.
“His adrenaline for the sports was a big worry, people would say ‘we’ll do a fun run and raise money’, he would do it in a sumo suit.”
James lost his life after going to watch cricket in fancy dress, when England played a Test match at Trent Bridge in July 2011.
His group went on to a city centre bar, where a drunken stranger took one of their pirate hats.
James was punched in the mayhem that followed, and died nine days later.
Jacob Dunne, then 19, from The Meadows in Nottingham, admitted manslaughter at Nottingham Crown Court.
In November 2011, he was sentenced to 30 months in a young offender institution.
“People were getting more for stealing a television and all you get back is ‘that was with intent’,” says Joan.
“I thought James’ life was worth more…what justice had James got?”
Joan Scourfield
James Hodgkinson died from a head injury after a single punch
But 14 years on, Joan describes Jacob as a friend and sometimes meets him for lunch or coffee.
They have joined forces to highlight the dangers of “one-punch” attacks and the benefits of what is known as restorative justice.
Restorative justice is a voluntary opportunity for the victim and the offender to share with each other how the crime has affected them – which can be face-to-face, by writing, or through recorded interviews.
That process offered Joan and her ex-husband, David, the opportunity to write to Jacob while he was still serving his sentence.
They wanted him to explain why he threw the fatal punch that took their son’s life.
Jacob Dunne met Joan through a restorative justice programme
Joan describes how those letters eventually led to a nervous face-to-face meeting after Jacob was released from jail.
“All I’d seen was that mugshot, so I was expecting this evil person to walk in, and this vulnerable young man walked in the room.”
She says Jacob was shocked that she cared enough to ask what he was going to do with his life.
“I didn’t want this revolving door of him going in and out of prison, getting worse and worse, and maybe other families going through what I’m going through.
“I cared about him, because I wanted him to stop the violence.”
Joan then told Jacob she forgave him, and offered to give a reference to help him turn his life around.
“He said he was going to university for us,” she says. “I said ‘don’t go to university for us, if you’re going to university you’re going for yourself’.
“I haven’t got the same bitterness, because I feel we have done more for Jacob than if he’d been 20 years in prison.
“I’m asking him to give up the friendships he knew and change his life, that’s a big ask for anybody, isn’t it?”
Nottingham Playhouse
Joan and ex-husband, David, joined Jacob Dunne on stage after performances of Punch
Jacob went on to achieve a first-class degree in criminology at Nottingham Trent University and published a book called “Right from Wrong: My Story of Guilt and Redemption”.
The award-winning Nottinghamshire playwright, James Graham, adapted that book into a play called “Punch”, which returns to Nottingham Playhouse this year, after runs at the Apollo on London’s West End and the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre in New York.
Joan says it was strange to watch her part played by former Coronation Street star Julie Hesmondhalgh.
“Some bits are obviously quite painful, when she has to do the life support machine bit and meeting Jacob bit, and talking about James, it is very hard hearing all that from somebody else.”
Nottingham Playhouse/Marc Brenner
Julie Hesmondhalgh, left, plays the part of Joan in Punch
Joan and Jacob have appeared on stage together for Q&A sessions after recent performances, where she agrees that people can find it extraordinary to see them hug each other.
“It is – but I’ve got to move forward and I didn’t want to be consumed with grief and this is my way forward, to get some good out of him,” says Joan.
“Other people in his gang have changed their life around because of it, so surely some good’s coming out of it.”
Now Joan, who lives in South Derbyshire, wants restorative justice to be offered routinely to victims and perpetrators of traumatic crimes, and she is convinced her son would approve.
“I think James would be honoured and amazed, because he was one to help youngsters, so to me that’s coming full circle.”
