In Restorative Justice, Victims and Offenders Have Active Roles |TODAY|
Submitted by dan.
on 2007-09-21 11:19.
The bedrock idea is that crime stems from a broken relationship between the victim, the offender and the community. The goal is to return the criminal to a contributing member to society.
"In the process of focusing on the victim, you end up providing a way for the offender to make amends and be re-accepted back into society," says Mike Gilbert, associate professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio Downtown Campus who teaches a course on restorative justice.... Coddling offenders, he says, "is letting them sit on their bunk all day and watch TV. It's not coddling when you have to sit face-to-face and talk to people you've harmed. That's tough accountability." Gilbert and other experts say restorative justice shouldn't be seen as a wholesale replacement for traditional justice — some people should definitely be locked up, he says — but rather as an alternative and added layer when appropriate. |
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