Defining Restorative Justice

These articles address the question “What is restorative justice? They do so by proposing definitions or principles that make up a restorative response to crime.

Restorative justice: What's old is new again

from the article by Matthew T. Mangino in the Canton Daily Ledger: ....One alternative gaining traction is Restorative Justice (RJ). RJ is a theory of justice that emphasizes repairing the harm caused by criminal behavior. It is best accomplished when the parties meet face-to-face to establish a plan of accountability and reconciliation. A meaningful RJ effort can transform people, relationships and communities. RJ views criminal acts more comprehensively-rather than defining crime simply as law breaking; it recognizes that offenders harm victims, communities and even themselves.

Restorative justice, globalisation and the logic of empire

from the artcle by Chris Cunneen in Borders and Transnational Crime: At the beginning of this century, restorative justice had come to receive a relatively high degree of acceptance in many jurisdictions. By 2002 it found its way onto the United Nations (UN) agenda, when the Economic and Social Council adopted the Basic Principles on the Use of Restorative Justice Programs in Criminal Matters. Restorative justice increasingly appeared to be the answer to a range of crime control problems, ranging from local issues like juvenile offending to international crimes and human rights abuses in transitional societies. For problems as diverse as child misbehaviour at school and ethnic cleansing and genocide, restorative justice was seen to offer a viable strategy both for satisfying victim needs and for reintegrating offenders. From seemingly humble beginnings as a localized justice strategy to taking a place on the UN’s agenda, restorative justice appeared as an alternative to retributive justice.

Restoration is a metaphor

from Howard Zehr's entry on Restorative Justice Blog: In an earlier blog entry I discussed the importance of metaphor and promised to say more about how this applies to justice. Here, finally, are more thoughts on metaphors and justice. ....Our justice language is full of metaphors. Some, such as the “war on crime” or the adversarial system as a boxing match, are easy to identify. But others are much more subtle and unconscious. For example, we often treat justice as a commodity: justice is spoken of as “received” or “given.”

'Justice' can take different forms: Traditional punishment isn't always the best way

from the editorial in the Des Moines Register: ....Charleston accused McCarthy of paying only “lip service” to restorative justice. McCarthy insisted Charleston doesn’t even understand what that term means. “You need to get a book and look it up,” he said. That might not be a bad idea for many of us. What are they talking about? Howard Zehr wrote the widely cited, best-selling “The Little Book of Restorative Justice” for people “who have heard the term and are curious about what it implies.”

Center for Restorative Activism

from the "Principles" page of Scott Brown's website: Here are some basic principles that help to frame what restorative activism is about: The historical moment calls on us to identify and focus on root causes. I believe the historical moment boils down to a choice between continuation with the life-denying worldview based on separateness, and a life affirming worldview based on the direct experience of interrelatedness. The belief in separateness can be singled out as a root cause of the crises we face and this shows us what we are really up against.

In sentencing criminals, is Norway too soft? Or are we too harsh?

from the article by Liliana Segura in The Nation: ....“Western Europeans regard 10 or 12 years as an extremely long term, even for offenders sentenced in theory to life,” he said. Today, there are more than 41,000 people serving life without parole in the United States compared to fifty-nine in Australia, forty-one in England and thirty-seven in the Netherlands. That’s according to a study released this spring, which found that we are “in the minority of countries using several sentencing practices, such as life without parole, consecutive sentences, juvenile life without parole, juvenile transfer to adult courts, and successive prosecution of the same defendant by the state and federal government.”

A different justice: Why Anders Breivik only got 21 years for killing 77 people

from the article by Max Fisher on The Atlantic: Although Breivik will likely be in prison permanently -- his sentence can be extended -- 21 years really is the norm even for very violent crimes. The much-studied Norwegian system is built on something called restorative justice. Proponents of this system might argue that it emphasizes healing: for the victims, for the society, and, yes, for the criminal him or herself.

The nature of community: Restorative justice and permaculture

from the article by Jonathan McRay in PeaceBuilder: Humans are inextricably connected to the earth. We inhabit, breathe, drink, and eat this strange blue globe that is our only home. The oldest religious traditions recognized this scientific claim by weaving stories, almost myths-as-memory, which describe humans as creatures crafted from the dirt: adam and adama, human and humus, culture and cultivate. Indeed, the plurality of human cultures grows from natural biodiversity. And we are social animals, dependent for better and worse on lives beyond ourselves. Restorative justice agrees by stating that society is interconnected, which reframes crime as the cause and effect of damaged relationships and disconnection from a sense of belonging. If this is true, then the proper response to crime, to the violation of people and interpersonal relationships, is the obligation to make things as right as possible, which includes the rehabilitation of the offender.

Restorative justice: Sketching a new legal discourse

from the article by Frank D. Hill for the Institute for Law and the Humanities: [T]he aim of this paper is not merely an exploration of the practice of restorative justice, but rather an examination of the radical re-visioning of criminal justice specifically and legal discourse generally which restorative justice gestures toward. Restorative justice imagines, and seeks to bring about, a system of justice which is responsive to the vicissitudes and dynamism that characterize individual experiences of crime. In order to do this, it re-imagines what the priorities of a system of criminal justice should be by enacting an inversion of the priorities of traditional legal discourse.

RJC briefing on Ministry of Justice consultation: Getting it right for victims and witnesses

from the Restorative Justice Council website: On 30th January 2012 the Ministry of Justice published Getting it right for victims and witnesses as a consultation document. Alongside a wide range of proposals to reform both support services for victims and witnesses, and criminal injuries compensation, the Government’s desire to develop provision of restorative justice for victims of crime is clear.

More on the meme, restorative justice and social media

from Kris Miner's entry on Restorative Justice and Circles: Meme: Memes are contagious patterns of cultural information that are passed from mind to mind and that directly shape and generate key actions and mindsets of a social group. Memes include popular tunes, catch-phrases, clothing fashions, architectural styles, ways of doing things, and so on.

So, what's the punishment?

by Lynette Parker I have several RSS feeds related to restorative justice, prison reform, and criminal justice. Usually, the headlines speak of unsafe prison conditions and the need for governments to make real changes to criminal justice policy. The articles highlight the problems created by prison crowding that results from an over-reliance on incarceration and pre-trial detention. High levels of recidivism and the lack of rehabilitative programming for prisoners are decried.

Steps to Peace – Restorative Justice simplified by Thich Nhat Hanh

Kris Miner's entry on Restorative Justice and Circles: Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh outlines the three steps to peace as:

A relational vision of justice

from Jennifer Llewellyn's article for Restorative Justice Week 2011: As a relational theory of justice, RJ is rooted in a relational understanding of human beings and the world. It starts from the fundamental assumption that human beings are inherently relational. This is more than merely a description about the way in which we live or a claim about the benefits that relationships bring. Human beings do indeed live in relationships with one another, but, a relational theory claims that we could not do otherwise. We are, on this account, formed in and through relationship with others. Relationship is central to who we are and who we become. This is not to say that we are just the sum of our relationships or wholly determined by them. We still make choices for ourselves and are responsible for those choices. But a relational approach reveals the extent to which our choices are made possible by and realized with the help of others. Our choices also affect others.

A restorative lens on violence

from Jennifer Haslett and Alan Edwards' article for Restorative Justice Week 2011: ....In our 14 years of working together on RJ cases involving violence, we have found that maintaining a focus on RJ as a justice process is fundamental in that it holds central the priorities of reparation of harm, accountability, safety and voice. Justice in this context is not synonymous with the criminal justice system; rather, justice as something people seek in societies and also as individuals on a daily basis, whether within families, workplaces or interactions within communities.

Restorative justice: Transforming corrections

from Daniel Patrick Dowen's article on Corrections.com: Restorative Justice is a different framework for reducing recidivism and providing public safety. It is not a program. It is a collection of concepts put into action to administer justice as a process that involves the victim, the offender and the community. It does not seek to undermine or mitigate the punitive characteristics of incarceration. Taking responsibility is fundamental and therefore more difficult for the offender. Restorative Justice Principles facilitates changing the offenders’ thinking and raising their level of moral reasoning. It attempts to teach offenders empathy and compassion for human suffering. Both qualities many offenders lack through inadequate childhood socialization, neglect or abuse.

A needle for the restorative justice compass

from the entry by Howard Zehr on Restorative Justice Blog: Injustice occurs when people are turned into objects through relationships. Justice occurs when people are honored through relationships. So for Vaandering, what is needed in restorative justice is a concerned effort to remind us all of the following: Justice is a call to recognize that all humans are worthy and to be honored. Injustice occurs when people are objectified. The term restorative justice becomes meaningful when it refers to restoring people to being honored as human.

Is restorative justice a compass without a needle?

from Howard Zehr's entry in Restorative Justice Blog: ....an important new contribution by Dorothy Vaandering. (“A faithful compass: rethinking the term restorative justice to find clarity.” Contemporary Justice Review, Vol 14, No. 3, Sept 2011, 307-328). Vaandering’s research and experiences are in the realm of education, but she speaks to the field as a whole, warning that although it has offered a compass, the compass has been lacking a needle.

Characteristics of restorative / transformational justice approaches

from the entry by RadioGirl on Criminal Injustice Kos: There is no monolithic approach to restorative/transformational justice initiatives. Some initiatives emphasize community involvement and are intended to eventually replace the harsh punishment/expanded policing orientation of the criminal legal system, while others are designed to work wholly within that system, as a more recent feature of it. There are many "blended" approaches that involve the criminal legal system, but also have components that operate independently.

Restorative terminology: A modest proposal

by Dan Van Ness Howard Zehr suggests that at the core of restorative justice are the values of respect, responsibility and relationship. Respect for others, genuine responsibility that acknowledges the true extent to which my actions affect others, and a recognition that the universe is relational and not merely material, all are reflected in what we call restorative justice. But should we apply that term to all attempts to follow those values?For example, is civility restorative justice? I just received an email message from a group called Civilination whose mission "is to foster an online culture where every person can freely participate in a democratic, open, rational and truth-based exchange of ideas and information, without fear or threat of being the target of unwarranted abuse, harassment, or lies." In other words, they want online culture to reflect respect, responsibility and relationships. They believe their work is connected to restorative justice and wanted us to inform our readers of their important work (which we've now done!).