Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikealson | English Language Arts | Final Project Restorative Justice + Comparison to the Book. RESTORATIVE JUSTICE INTRO: The earliest records of prisons date back to 1000 BC, in the early civilisations of Mesopotamia and Egypt. These had only the purpose of mentally and physically harming the individual in an attempt to make them pay for their wrongdoings. Offenders would be held there until a sentence of death or slavery was received. In fact, even later jails such as cellars, underground dungeons, and rusted cages, were often unclean, dark, and full of disease. In other words, prison was an extremely unpleasant experience, and didn’t focus on helping the incarcerated individual, but rather making them pay with …show more content…
This trauma led him to commit a crime numerous times. Eventually, he ends up fatally injuring a grade nine boy, resulting in being sent to a youth center, and two years later, is incarcerated, after the grade nine boy ends his own life, being unable to heal from the emotional damage received, harming not only himself and Cole, but the entire community and his own family. The prison hardens Cole’s mind, gradually decreasing any chance of healing, and putting him through an extremely violent, overcrowded, and possibly disease infested prison. This diminishes and chips off pieces of his mental health, to the point of severe depression, dangerously high levels of blood pressure, and constantly reminds him of his past, triggering intense PTSD. Finally, all of these precipitately build up, to the point where he is no longer Cole, though rather just a mentally ill shell of his former …show more content…
A form of justice that not only punishes, but heals, allowing victims, offenders, and communities affected by a crime to communicate about its causes, reasoning, and overall impact, as well as one which respects the cardinal values of compassion and inclusivity, ethically and impartially intertwining them into justice. This is restorative justice, he said. Originating from Canada, through Native American teachings, restorative justice is a concept well explored and for the most part forming the book “Touching Spirit Bear”, working towards reconciliation and healing, as opposed to the sheer punishment prison has to inflict. The following are a few powerful, influential, and touching quotes from both offenders and victims, as well as facilitators, family and community