Achieving the goals of criminal justice: A role for restorative justice

Source: (2012) Qunnipiac law review. 30:527-544

While serving as a judge, I read about this concept of “Restorative
Justice,” and I can tell you, my reaction was, “That’s crazy! Why the
hell,” excuse my language, “would a victim or survivor of a crime ever
want to go face to face with somebody who has hurt them so deeply?”
So I had no interest in it. I did not go to any Restorative Justice
programs. I had no interest in studying it. There may be people in this
room who feel the same way I did. I hope that by the end of the
symposium you will think a little differently about the potential that
Restorative Justice can have on healing victims and communities. These
are not processes that are about “going soft on crime” or “letting
offenders re-victimize those who have been harmed.” What we work
towards is repairing the harm, building relationships, and holding offenders truly accountable for what they have done.(Excerpt)