Family reveal how restorative justice let them forgive their son's killer

In July 2011 James Hodgkinson was enjoying a night out with family and friends in Nottingham City Centre after a day at Trent Bridge. They were dressed in fancy dress for the Test Match.

Another group of lads had been messing about with the fancy dress costumes. At the end of the night they went over to ask for them back. The scene was friendly and non-aggressive.

Then out of no-where someone ran up to James and punched him. He fell to the floor and cracked his skull on the kerb.

9 days later he died in hospital.

On Tonight: Meeting My Enemy James Hodgkinson’s parents, David & Joan, meet the perpetrator, the lad who was 19 at the time and who had been drinking heavily that night - Jacob Dunne.

Did he mean to kill James? Why did he hit James so hard? All these questions were raging around in their minds until they started the process called Restorative Justice.

Restorative Justice brings both parties together.

Once 19 year old Jacob Dunne had served his sentence, he says “I was definitely worse when I came out of prison - angry, bitter - definitely not rehabilitated.”

And then his probation officer told him that the parents of his victim had some questions. For Jacob this was the turning point. “I never expected to get anything out of this process” he says.

Yet over the next two and a half years, both parties communicated through facilitators from charity Remedi - who very slowly and sensitively mediated between both sides.

For Joan and David they asked the critical question: “what are you doing with your life?”

They meet for just the second time in A Tonight Special: Meeting My Enemy on ITV at 7.30pm this evening.

And you can watch Jacob Dunne's appearance on This Morning here.