Restorative Justice: Does It Work?

• NCJ Number: 112857
• Journal: Current Municipal Problems Volume: 14 Issue: 3 Dated: (1988) Pages: 353-356
• Author(s): R Rempel
• Date Published: 1988
• Length: 4 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Reprinted with permission from the February 28, 1987, issue of 'The Christian Century.'

Annotation

This article summarizes a discussion of alternatives to retributive justice considered by 20 workers from selected mediation, conciliation, victim-offender, and victim-advocate programs from across North America.

Abstract

In the first rounds of discussion, there was an apparent stand-off between victim advocates and conciliation advocates. The two sides did agree on the following sequence in justice objectives: the victim must first be protected and empowered to break silence and tell the truth about what happened; the offender must first repent (not only show remorse, but change behavior); only then it is possible to begin restoring victim-offender relationships, whether through mediation or other methods. In cases in which the offender never repents, one participant suggested the goal should be 'approximate justice,' in which other avenues must be found to satisfy victim needs so the victim is free to forgive the offender. There was no final agreement among participants on what terms to use in a consensus alternative to the current retributive system. There was agreement, however, that changes are needed and that experiments should continue without writing off the entire existing criminal justice system.