Restorative justice is the ideological approach to justice that prioritizes, healing, reconciliation and accountability in response to an offense. Restorative justice holds great value, as it finds implementation in classrooms, managing, parenting and, most commonly, the criminal justice system. It aims to focus on the damage an offense has done to a victim, to restore offenders to law-abiding lives, and repair the harm done to communities and society. Restorative justice views justice as a tool to heal offenders and victims of a crime committed to deter both parties from committing future offenses, in comparison to the current justice system that views justice as punishment and retribution for crimes. Restorative justices focusing on an offender’s …show more content…
The offender and their victim are given a supervised platform to voice and share how they have both been impacted by the offense, how they have been harmed, what they are feeling and what they want to do in response.Restorative justice differs from the traditional system by lacking a jail or prison system, instead the victim and offender meet and discuss what restitution must be paid and what the offender must do to repair the damages they have caused. Coming to a mutual solution provides more satisfaction to both parties, from a “57% rate of satisfaction to a rate of 79%” (Communities for Restorative Justice). Achieving a better sense of satisfaction helps the victim lower the chances of having the mental harm caused by the offense prolonged. Restorative justice is a system that can only be effective if both parties, the offender and the victim, want to engage in the system. With its primary goal being to heal all parties of the offense of their harm, the victim and the offender must actively want to help the other party heal. After the initial meeting and both parties have agreed to engage in restorative justice, continued monitored meetings between the victim and the offender are meant to be carried out to provide a safe space for both to express their feelings, how they have been impacted by the offense and whatever else they may want to convey to the other. Following thorough preparation and multiple meetings of the parties, a practitioner of restorative justice will facilitate conversation about what damage has been caused, how their lives have been impacted following the offense and to collaboratively come to a set agreement for how the offender will pay for their crime, through restitution, community service, and helping the victim heal the harm they have had the
Lorraine Stutzman Amstutz states how schools that claim they are following restorative approaches through their policies in discipline are not necessarily restorative, but have enough flexibility to allow a restorative response.
How would a conservative reply to a proposal for restorative justice? How would a restorative justice advocate respond to a conservative proposal for more prisons?
“Restorative justice is a process whereby parties with a stake in a specific offence collectively resolve how to deal with the aftermath of the offence and its implications for the future” (Munchie, 2004).
This voluntary alternative gives the offender the opportunity to take responsibility for their actions and identify the impact they have had on their victim, while also giving the victim the chance to confront the offender and take steps to repair the harm done. The victim can ask the offender questions about the crime and the offender may apologise or make amends for their actions. Restorative justice is confrontational and can be difficult for both parties but is proven to help both the offender and victim. While it is confrontational for the victim, for some it can be better than testifying in court. Data shows that restorative justice greatly helps victims in their recovery from the offence. Although the benefits of restorative justice in adult offenders is unclear, it significantly reduces the number of reoffenders in youth. For this reason, restorative justice is mostly used for minor infringements and within the youth justice system.
There are three primary principles of effective intervention. First, interventions should target the criminogenic risk factors of the offender (Cullen & Jonson, 2017). Logically, if an intervention is to impact recidivism it needs to address the factors that contributed to the criminality. For example, if an offender is someone who has antisocial associates. Then, one goal would be for them to associate with more prosocial, law-abiding people who can help them stay on track with. Therefore, the intervention targets dynamic rather than static, unchangeable factors (Cullen & Jonson, 2017).
As agents of justice and philanthropists of duty one must evaluate the criminal justice system and its approaches to the solution of crime to determine what is good, appropriate, and what will reduce recidivism. As a western society the United States has changed and adapted its judicial system in hopes of conforming to our changing society and the increase in criminal behavior. Through these adaptations emerged a system within criminal justice that changes the focus of rehabilitation of the offender to not only include imprisonment, but to include reconciliation with the victims and the community that the offender harmed. The restorative justice approach takes a look at the crime, the criminal, and the offended; with hopes for healing and justice
The purpose of this paper is to examine the processes of both Restorative and Retributive justice through the case of Sara Kruzan vs. The State of California. First we will establish the principle philosophers associated with each type of justice and those system's theoretical applications in our criminal justice system. Then we will apply both systems to Sara Kruzan's trail and determine the publishable outcomes. Finally we will review Sara's Life after her trial and speculate on what system would have produced a more just outcome.
When looking at the Criminal Justice system there are so many different elements make up the system to create a whole, it is sometimes hard to grasp every element. Throughout history people and governments alike have tried to figure out cost saving yet efficient strategies to keep offenders from reoffending and out of jail. Restorative justice is one of these elements; created to focus on the rehabilitation of offenders through reconciliation with victims and the community at large. Within the realm of restorative justice there are many different types of procedures and programs from alternate dispute resolution to veteran trauma courts and everything in-between. Not everyone will agree that these specialty courts and procedures
Restorative justice is an alternative community based program for juvenile offenders. Instead of sending juvenile offenders to jail or punishing them, they are taught
Over the years, the traditional criminal justice system has emphasized offenders’ accountability through punishment and stigmatization. The emphasis on the retributive philosophy made it challenging for the system to meaningfully assist and empower crime victims. In the criminal justice system, victims often face insensitive treatment with little or no opportunity for input into the perseverance of their case and report feeling voiceless in the process used (Choi, Gilbert, & Green, 2013:114). Crime Victims, advocates, and practitioners have called for an expansion of victims’ rights and community-based alternatives rather than punishment-orientated justice policies. What victims want from the criminal justice system is a less formal process, more information about case processing, respectful treatment, and emotional restoration. Therefore, there is a growing need to progress towards the restorative justice (RJ) system.
As the purpose of restorative justice is to mend the very relationship between the victim, offender, and society, communities that embrace restorative justice foster an awareness on how the act has harmed others. Braithwaite (1989) notes that by rejecting only the criminal act and not the offender, restorative justice allows for a closer empathetic relationship between the offender, victims, and community. By acknowledging the intrinsic worth of the offender and their ability to contribute back to the community, restorative justice shows how all individuals are capable of being useful despite criminal acts previous. This encourages offenders to safely reintegrate into society, as they are encouraged to rejoin and find rapport with the community through their emotions and
Agreeing on a definition of restorative justice has proved difficult. One definition is a theory of justice that focuses mostly on repairing the harm caused by criminal behaviour. The reparation is done through a cooperative process that includes all the stakeholders. Restorative justice can also be explained as an approach of justice that aims to satisfy the needs of the victims and offenders, as well as the entire community. The most broadly accepted definition for restorative justice, however, is a process whereby all the parties that have a stake in a specific offence collectively resolve on how to deal with the aftermath. This process is largely focused around reparation, reintegration and participation of victims. That is to say, it is a victim-centred approach to criminal justice, and it perceives crime differently than the adversarial system of justice.
When Mary Catherine Parris was told that I would be talking to her about restorative justice, her response was, “Is that a real thing?” (personal communication, September 23, 2015). Through this assignment I realized that restorative justice is not talked about within the criminal justice system. For both of the individuals I spoke with, the idea of restorative justice seemed like a joke. In trying to persuade them both that restorative justice is a real thing, I was met with very similar beliefs and comments from both individuals. They both believed that restorative justice would not work and believed that some aspects of the approach were completely useless (M. C. Parris, & R. Clemones, personal communication, September 23, 2015). The responses
“Restorative justice is an approach to crime and other wrongdoings that focuses on repairing harm and encouraging responsibility and involvement of the parties impacted by the wrong.” This quote comes from a leading restorative justice scholar named Howard Zehr. The process of restorative justice necessitates a shift in responsibility for addressing crime. In a restorative justice process, the citizens who have been affected by a crime must take an active role in addressing that crime. Although law professionals may have secondary roles in facilitating the restorative justice process, it is the citizens who must take up the majority of the responsibility in healing the pains caused by crime. Restorative justice is a very broad subject and has many other topics inside of it. The main goal of the restorative justice system is to focus on the needs of the victims, the offenders, and the community, and focus
Restorative Justice is an approach to the justice system that focuses on the needs of both the