A Fatal Punch: Why I Met the Parents of the Man I Killed (Jacob Dunne)

Whilst on a night out in the summer of 2011, Jacob Dunne made a
split second decision to throw a punch that killed James
Hodgkinson.


After being convicted of manslaughter, Jacob spent 14 months in
prison during which time James’ parents contacted him to get
answers about their son’s death. A dialogue began between them
and when Jacob was released, Joan and David asked a question that
he says saved him: “What are you going do with your life?”


That led to him doing his GCSE’s and getting a degree, and with
James’ parents he now campaigns for criminal justice reform to
improve the experience of victims and reduce reoffending.


Amol and Jacob go into extraordinary detail about his tough
upbringing in Nottingham, what happened on that fateful night in
2011, and how – through his relationship with Joan and David -
Jacob turned his life around.


They also discuss knife crime and why he thinks building stronger
relationships is the solution to ending the cycle of violence in
some of the most deprived areas of the UK.


His story is the subject of a West End play called Punch by James
Graham and an award-winning BBC Radio 4 Series, which you can
listen to here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000l0jr


(00:04:00) What is restorative justice?


(00:14:00) Growing up in Nottingham


(00:26:44) The punch


(00:47:00) Time in prison


(00:56:20) Life after prison


(01:05:00) Meeting James' parents


(01:22:40) The future


(01:31:00) Amol’s reflections


(01:36:14) Listener messages


GET IN TOUCH * WhatsApp: 0330 123 9480 * Email: radical@bbc.co.uk
Episodes of Radical with Amol Rajan are released every Thursday
and you can also watch them on BBC iPlayer:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m002f1d0/radical-with-amol-rajan
Amol Rajan is a presenter of the Today programme on BBC Radio 4.
He is also the host of University Challenge on BBC One. Before
that, Amol was media editor at the BBC and editor at The
Independent.


Radical with Amol Rajan is a Today Podcast. It was made by Lewis
Vickers with Anna Budd. Digital production was by Gabriel
Purcell-Davis. Technical production was by James Piper. The
editor is Sam Bonham. The executive producer is Owenna Griffiths.