NEWMAN

Local Author Donates $45,000 Worth Of Nonviolence Books
To Philadelphia Gun Buyback Program

PHILADELPHIA (April 7, 2005)-Local peace advocate and law and spirituality attorney/author James P. Kimmel, Jr. announced today that in cooperation with Hampton Roads Publishing Company, he is donating up to $45,000 worth of his new conflict resolution book to Philadelphia's gun buyback program. Now, every person who turns in a weapon to the Philadelphia Police Department during the month of April will receive not only a voucher for clothing redeemable at City Blue stores, but also a copy of Suing for Peace: A Guide for Resolving Life's Conflicts (without Lawyers, Guns, or Money).

"Suing for Peace teaches people how to resolve conflicts without guns," said the Chester County author. "That it is being released during the same month that Philadelphia is suffering under a siege of gun violence and launching a gun buyback program cemented the connection between the two and made the need for donating these books critical. The financial contributions of Joe Nadav of City Blue stores and Joe Mammana of Yardley farms to start the gun buyback program are a beautiful gift to this city. But the bow tying it all together was missing. The citizens of Philadelphia need more than clothing vouchers to fight gun violence; they need hope and an effective method for resolving conflicts peacefully. Suing for Peace provides both."

State Rep. Dwight Evans (D., Phil.) agrees: "The gun buyback program is already a success but this offers a message people can take home with the financial incentives. Suing for Peace contains the message that violence is the result of an addiction we rarely talk about-an addiction to revenge when we're wronged or angry. We call it justice but we really mean revenge. Suing for Peace contains a potent method for breaking the revenge addiction that can help people think twice before picking up a gun. I commend Attorney Kimmel and Hampton Roads Publishing for making this generous contribution to our city. If we're going to end the violence, we need to change the dialogue and think differently about the underlying causes of violence and how to eliminate them."

"Changing the dialogue and thinking differently," Kimmel explains, "begins with being more honest about the words we use and their meaning. Justice has evolved into the politically correct word we now use whenever we mean payback, revenge, retribution, and vengeance. We say we're only seeking justice to excuse all kinds of hurtful and violent behavior, from aggressive driving to international terrorism."

Although Kimmel may ruffle feathers within his own profession by calling justice-seeking a dangerous addiction, he backs up his argument with facts. "We live in a world," Kimmel writes in his book, "in which school children kill each other to get justice, adults engage in every form of malice in the name of justice, terrorists indiscriminately massacre thousands of people under the delusions of justice, and nations go to war waving the blood red flag of justice. All hurtful acts are, at their root, motivated by the pursuit of justice."

Why call this an addiction? "Because," Kimmel explains, "scientists have recently discovered that when we feel wronged, there's a burst of activity in the same part of the brain that's activated when we're preparing to satisfy other types of cravings. Seeking justice is a biological and emotional craving that becomes an addiction when left unchecked. Unfortunately, indulging the justice addiction harms more than the individual-it has consequences for society as a whole. We've had ninety murders in Philadelphia already this year. Each one can be seen as somebody satisfying their craving for justice. We've got to find a way to manage these cravings before guns are drawn."

Kimmel's proposal for stopping the violence is equally provocative. To break the justice addiction, Kimmel says we must begin to practice what he calls "nonjustice," meaning "to abstain from seeking justice." Weaving together law and spirituality, Kimmel draws upon the justice teachings of the world's religions to support his thesis and to create a personal nine step "Nonjustice System" for resolving conflicts quickly and peacefully.

"The Nonjustice System places you inside a virtual courtroom," Kimmel explains, "where you get to play all the roles-prosecutor, defense attorney, judge, jury, jailer, even executioner. This practice allows you to satisfy your craving for justice against the person who wronged you within the safety of your own home, where nobody can get hurt. But after you've tried, convicted, sentenced, and punished your enemy, you realize you aren't any better off for it after all. In fact, seeking justice has only made you more miserable because you've only made the conflict worse and hurt yourself-which, by the way, is the experience of most people within our justice system. When you realize this truth, your justice addiction is broken."

"It's a powerfully liberating emotional experience," Kimmel says. "In that moment, you remember that peace and happiness come only from within…not from taking your enemy's happiness at the point of a gun."

Kimmel's book is beginning to receive national attention. But he also makes his Nonjustice System available for free on the internet at the website of his non-profit Nonjustice Foundation (www.nonjustice.org). "Stopping violence is more important than selling books," Kimmel explains.

The publisher of his book, Hampton Roads Publishing Company, agrees. "Suing for Peace contains an innovative method for resolving conflicts and bringing about peace," said Hampton Roads president Robert Friedman. "We're proud to publish this book, and we're proud to be able to offer it to the citizens of Philadelphia as part of the gun buyback program."

Suing for Peace will be distributed through City Blue stores. Each person who comes to a City Blue store with a gun buyback voucher will be offered a free copy of the book.

"I had learnt the true practice of law. I had learnt to find out the better side of human nature and to enter men's hearts. I realized that the true function of a lawyer was to unite parties riven asunder. The lesson was so indelibly burnt into me that a large part of my time during the twenty years of my practice as a lawyer was occupied in bringing about private compromises of hundreds of cases. I lost nothing thereby--not even money, certainly not my soul."