Two US soldiers who were caught stealing Pride flags from the front of a lesbian couple’s home have avoided convictions after the couple forgave them for their actions.
Michelle Logan and Jenna Burnett has Pride flags that flew in front of their home in Arlington County Virginia stolen on at least five occasions.
Police eventually caught the culprits who turned out to be two serving US army soldiers, 20-year-old Matthew Henshaw and 23-year-old Jospeh Digregorio. The pair were arrested in February 2024.
The charges against the pair were dismissed after they took part in a restorative justice program where the lesbian couple forgave the pair for their actions.
“It’s almost like if you took mediation and therapy and blended those things,” Arlington County Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti told NBC Washington.
“We should be empowering victims,” Dehghani-Tafti said. “We should be giving them a voice in what they need. Because, oftentimes, the system that we have is causing more harm towards victims. It re-traumatizes them. And, not everybody feels that they need the retribution and punishment and it’s not necessarily appropriate in every single case.”
The program, which was introduced three years ago, is used in cases where both the defendants and the victims agree to meet and discuss what has occurred.
For Michelle Logan and Jenna Burnett, the couple who kept having to replace the flag at the front of their home, it was a chance to tell the two young men the effect their actions had on their lives.
“Honestly, this seemed like a good route to take because we didn’t feel like the court process was enough of a punishment. We wanted both of them to educate themselves around why they did this, what struggles the LGBTQ+ community has faced and continues to face, and why this wasn’t just about stealing a Pride flag.” the couple said in a statement.
The couple met the two young men several times over a five-month period and got to explain to them the effects of their actions.
After the thefts many of the couples neighbours began to fly their own Pride flags in front of their houses to show support for the couple. Their house is located just two blocks from the army base where the two soldiers were stationed.
The Restorative Justice Program is a pathway that is offered to offenders between the ages of 16 and 26, and they must admit they are guilty of the crime and show remorse to be admitted. People charged with certain violent crimes, such as intimate partner violence, sexual assault, and murder are not eligible for admission to the program.
