Comment on Using Criminal Punishment to Serve Both Victim and Social Needs.

Source: (2009) Law and Contemporary Problems. 72(2): 219-225.

By expanding the frame of reference, restorative justice can be defined as a
paradigm whose scope encompasses more than victim–offender mediation
(VOM) and whose emphasis includes the needs of society and offenders as well
as victims. Restorative justice involves a wide variety of processes and programs
that are more apt to restore both those who commit and those who suffer
wrongs. It includes children-at-risk programs, drug courts, violence-treatment
programs, as well as victim–offender mediation programs. It also includes
efforts to assist former convicts returning to the community to engage in
constructive lifestyles and sustainable roles in families, workplaces, and
neighborhoods. It is a paradigm that includes any program or approach that
satisfies the following criteria:1) Offenders must acknowledge their wrongdoing, expressing remorse and apology. 2) Offenders must be accountable and accept responsibility for all harms or injury their actions have caused to themselves and others, and must be willing to take corrective or remedial action as well as
make appropriate reparations to those they have harmed.; 3) In response, the community, including victims if appropriate and possible in some realistically effective manner, pardons and assists in the reintegration of such offenders. (excerpt)