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Restorative Justice Essay

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One primary aspect which the retributive system fails to consider is the future deeds of the offender who is set free after a significant period of conviction. The question which remains unanswered is: does the person commit further harm after he is released or he moves ahead in life as a law-abiding citizen? The restorative justice concept takes a foot forward to answer this question by improving the tripartite relationship of victim-offender-society and seeks to address the harm rather than only punishing for the crime committed. Restorative justice has emerged globally as a viable response to the harm caused by crime. In common parlance, it has been described as a “process whereby all the parties with a stake in a particular offence come together to resolve collectively how to deal with the aftermath of the offence and its implications for the future.” What is notable is that, this justice system represents a new model of conflict resolution. It is a victim centred response to crime directly involving those most affected by criminal act through dialogue and direct accountability. The United Nations describes “restorative process” as “any process in which the victim and the offender and where appropriate, any other individuals or community members affected by a crime, participate …show more content…

Thereby, by providing a less formal environment, restorative model may actually allow a far more individualised outlook to the requirements of the victims while offering a less intimidating environment for all concerned. The restorative justice processes are underpinned by voluntariness as neither the offender nor the victim can be pressurised to get involved in the process. It is obligatory on the part of the facilitators to keep the participants i.e. the victim and offender particularly, well informed and must ensure the delivery of an effective

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This process will ensure that each offender receives the proper punishment and that the community is satisfied with the decision. The offender-based models, retributive and utilitarian, does not help the victim recover. Restorative justice is designed

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110). According to the author, the aim of restorative justice is to heal communities from an incident where people were harmed and, ideally, help prevent the same thing from happening again. I believe that, there is going to be a higher possibility of crime reduction in schools and in different neighborhood if victims and offenders mediate a restitution agreement to the satisfaction of each other. In conjunction to this, if the government can be more committed in supporting these approaches, I believe that there will be a massive drop in crime

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A little after noon on November 22, 1963 President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. A lot of opinions have been shared and compared. Within this paper I will explain my opinions on the assassination of J.F.K. It was very hard to develop an opinion about the assassination because there is very little factual evidence to support one individual being accused of the assassination. With some research I have come up with a few opinions of why I believe J.F.K was assassinated. By the fall of 1963, President John F. Kennedy and his political advisers were preparing for the next presidential campaign.

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This type of justice system is designed very differently when compared with the retributive justice system. The restorative justice system endeavours to bring the victim and the offender together and allow them to speak with each other in the hopes to support the healing process. It will enable the victims to express themselves to the offender and lets the offender apologize and express their feelings to the victim. The restorative justice system often offers the victims of crime closure. The system encourages both parties to reveal themselves to each other and develop a solution for the future to satisfy both parties involved.

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B. Restorative Justice There is some theoretical ambiguity in the meaning of Restorative Justice in spite of the many definitions and studies done on the subject. Restorative Justice has been defined as “an ethos with practical goals, among which to restore harm by including affected parties in a (direct or indirect) encounter and a process of understanding through voluntary and honest dialogue.” It is primarily concerned with the reinstatement of victims to life before the crime, restoration of the Offender to a well behaved and lawful life, restoration of the injury caused to the community and the creation of a better society in the present and the future. Restorative Justice is not easily defined because it covers a wide range of practices introduced at different stages of the criminal process, including diversion from prosecution, actions analogous with court decisions and meetings between victims and offenders at any stage of the criminal process. One widely-accepted definition of restorative justice was put forward by Tony Marshall which was also accepted by the United Nations Working Party on Restorative Justice, defined restorative justice as; “a process whereby all parties with a stake in a particular offence come together to resolve collectively how to deal with the aftermath of an offence and its implications for the future.”

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Dominated by ritualistic confines of penance and convoluted legalese, criticisms of the traditional retributive criminal justice system has led to the increase in the popularity of restorative justice (RJ). Consedine defines restorative justice as a “constructive mechanism” designed to foster reconciliation for victims and offenders through mediation (Consedine, 1995: 9). Walgrave notes that due to the complex interpretations of reconciliation and forgiveness it is imperative that an “espresso- definition” of RJ is promoted to ensure its effectiveness (Walgrave, 2008:18). The purpose of restorative justice is to uphold victim rights, inform offenders of wrongdoing and to reduce the “visceral” impact of crime on communities (Morrison, 2012). The NSW Drug Court Act 1998 No 150, Section 3 Objects is a contemporary example of a restorative based scheme involving “compulsory

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Restorative justice is a sentencing model that builds on restitution and community participation in an attempt to make a victim “whole again” (Schmalleger, 2010). Restorative justice can be explained as a form of punishment, which everyone involved or affected by a crime gets a feeling of peace after all if finalized. Both the victim and the offender have to agree to participate in restorative justice. There are needs that have to be met through restorative justice, which are the victim must be

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It also had significant benefits for the victims as they were allowed to work through the emotions of their victimization in a more healthy manner and in a safe and supported environment (Strang et al., 2012). While restorative justice conferencing still needs some improvements to have an overall efficient and effective response to criminal offending, early research indicates that it is a more progressive and successful approach to reducing crime in comparison to the traditional goals of criminal

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1. Restorative Justice response to the crime/setting Restorative justice is the repair of justice by reaffirming a shared consensus of values involving a joint or multisided approach; emphasizes victim, community, and offender. In the novel Buck: A Memoir by MK Asante Chapter 7 correlates with the perspective restorative justice. The crime in relation to the perspective was when Uzi, Malo’s brother was jailed for sleeping with a white girl that was thirteen after she lied that she was sixteen and him

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Restorative justice is a relatively new development within the criminal justice system, which focuses on the rehabilitation of offenders and the victims of their crimes. Rather than focus on punishing the offender, restorative justice works to reconcile the offender with their victims and community. This new form of justice places an emphasis on the interpersonal aspect of crime, and works to better each individual offender’s and victim’s experience with the criminal justice system. The individuality of the process shifts the focus to ask who has been hurt, what do they need and how can it best be provided. The restorative justice system differs from the normative criminal justice system in its core values.

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Restorative justice aims at involving the parties to a dispute; the victims, the offenders and the families concerned and the community at large in identifying harms, needs and obligations together by accepting responsibilities and taking measures to prevent a recurrence of the incident and also promote reconciliation. Restorative justice sees crime as an act against the victim and focuses on repairing the harm committed against the victim and the community rather than focusing on punishing the perpetrator. Restorative justice believes that the offender is also in need of assistance and therefore seeks to identify what needs to change in order to prevent a repeat of the act in future.

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Today our justice system has a multitude of options when dealing with those who are convicted of offenses. However, many argue that retributive justice is the only real justice there is. This is mainly because its advantage is that it gives criminals the appropriate punishment that they deserve. The goals of this approach are clear and direct. In his book The Little Book of Restorative Justice, Zehr Howard (2002), illustrates that the central focus of retributive justice is offenders getting what they deserve (p. 30).

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4 Criticism and Challenges The first point of criticism against victim participation in restorative justice processes arises from scepticism about an apology to the victim as a way of dealing with criminal matters. The perception sometimes exists as to it simply being a way to get away with the crime.106 Members of the public should thus be educated to understand that restorative justice is more than a mere saying sorry, but in the context of victim offender mediation or family group conferences it rather affords the victim the opportunity to confront the child offender with the real and human cost of his or her criminal actions. Another concern deals with the possible secondary victimisation of the victim in the case where the offender pretends

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Restorative Justice processes are likely to reduce criminals from repeating offenses, as numerous recidivism studies have demonstrated. Thus, it would be more than justified to employ restorative processes a response to crimes under

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Batley (2005) stated that restorative justice is about restoring, healing and re- integrating victims, offenders, as well as the society and also preventing further harm. In this assignment, I will be discussing approaches to restorative justice and illustrating their advantages and disadvantages to offending. I will also provide the applications of these five approaches of restorative justice which are retributive approach, utilitarian deterrence approach, rehabilitation approach, restitution approach and restorative approach in the given case study. I will then explain my preferred approach to justice through identifying a personal belief or value that underpins my choice.

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