Restorative justice can be used in all types of cases: from petty crimes and misdemeanors to sex offenses, domestic violence and murder. Restorative justice gives victims a voice in deciding how the harms caused by crime will be redressed.
They can say what happened to them and talk about it with supportive, trained community members. They can also speak directly with offenders. Community volunteers play an important role in the restorative process, particularly with regard to offences which do not have an identifiable victim or in circumstances where the community itself is the victim such as public order offences, damage to public property etc.
Focusing on positive connections and support contributes to a positive school climate. Islam teaches that forgiveness and reconciliation are important after conflict, including in situations where crimes have been committed.
Restorative justice is compatible with ideas within Islam. Islam on the whole accepts capital punishment. But even though the death penalty is allowed, forgiveness is preferable. In some countries public executions are carried out to heighten the element of deterrence. Respect and Recognition.
Treating victims with compassion and with respect for their dignity is a fundamental aspect of providing victims with justice. For many victims, it is important that they are recognized as a victim, and that their suffering as the result of a wrongful act against them is acknowledged.
Many crimes treat people unfairly. Punishments ensure that justice is done. Christians do not believe in taking revenge when they have been wronged. They believe that they should forgive the sins of others, in the same way that they believe God forgives them for their sins. The causes of crime are complex. Poverty, parental neglect, low self-esteem, alcohol and drug abuse can be connected to why people break the law. Some are at greater risk of becoming offenders because of the circumstances into which they are born.
Attitudes to Lawbreakers Christians do not believe that people are evil but that people can be tempted to do wrong and break the law. God is just. It is part of His character, which means He is always just. He cannot be unjust, and He defines and sets the standard for justice.
Retribution certainly includes elements of deterrence, incapacitation, and rehabilitation, but it also ensures that the guilty will be punished, the innocent protected, and societal balance restored after being disrupted by crime. Retribution is thus the only appropriate moral justification for punishment. The concept of retribution means, roughly, that people ought to get what they deserve.
Underlying this desert principle are two standard expectations: a the reward or punishment should be in proportion to what one deserves; and b it should be meted out impartially. Punishment of some type may be useful for the future, by deterring wrongdoing and reforming offenders. Talion, Latin lex talionis, principle developed in early Babylonian law and present in both biblical and early Roman law that criminals should receive as punishment precisely those injuries and damages they had inflicted upon their victims.
Lex Fori means the law of Court in which the proceeding is brought whilst Lex Arbitri is the law of the place where the arbitration takes place. Retributive justice is a perspective that focuses on punishment for offenders, while restorative justice focuses on the relationship between the offender and the victim. Restorative justice can potentially be used for any type of crime.
It can help victims of low level crime and people who have experienced the most serious offences. There are certain offences which can pose particular challenges for the restorative process, for example sexual offences, hate crime and domestic violence.
The victim chooses to participate. The main benefit of this choice is that it brings justice into the hands of those most directly impacted by the crime.
During the process, the victim gets to express how the crime has harmed them, while the offender can explain what happened. This is also their chance to show regret. At this point, the victim and offender agree on how to repair the harm done. Mediation also has high satisfaction rates and high victim participation. Many restorative justice programs are based in indigenous cultures. Peacemaking circles are one of them. In the s, circles were adapted for the criminal justice system thanks to the work of Yukon people and justice officials.
Their goal was to bring the community and formal justice system closer together. In , a judge in the Yukon Territorial Court introduced a sentencing circle. Circles are similar to victim-offender mediation in that they involve discussion. Circles can include whole families or just a few individuals.
Circles are most commonly found in the Yukon, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan. Navajo peacemaking courts in the US have also used circles. In one study from Minnesota, people reported building strong connections. Because everyone is allowed to speak and participate, circles are considered fair.
Whanau conferences have traditionally helped the community deal with youth who have harmed others in some way. It established how to deal with juvenile offenders without processing them through the courts. The Act gave authority to the families of the offender and victim, as well as other community support entities, to decide on what to do.
In conferencing, a trained facilitator is always present. Participation is voluntary for everyone. To participate, the offender must first admit to the offense. At the conference, the victim and their supporters can describe the impact of the offense and ask the offender questions. Together, the group discusses what to do next and how the harm can be repaired. Emmaline Soken-Huberty is a freelance writer based in Portland, Oregon. She started to become interested in human rights while attending college, eventually getting a concentration in human rights and humanitarianism.
Disclosure: Global Peace Careers may be compensated by course providers.
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