Howard Zehr’s “Restorative justice three’s”

3 assumptions underlie restorative justice:

• When people and relationships are harmed, needs are created

• The needs created by harms lead to obligations

• The obligation is to heal and “put right” the harms; this is a just
  response.

3 principles of restorative justice reflect these
assumptions: A just response…

• acknowledges and repairs the harm caused by, and revealed by,
  wrongdoing (restoration);

• encourages appropriate responsibility for addressing needs and
  repairing the harm (accountability);

• involves those impacted, including the community, in the resolution
  (engagement).

3 underlying values provide the foundation:

• Respect

• Responsibility

• Relationship

3 questions are central to restorative justice:

• Who has been hurt?

• What are their needs?

• Who has the obligation to address the needs, to put right the harms,
  to restore relationships? (As opposed to: What rules were broken? Who
  did it? What do they deserve?)

3 stakeholder groups should be considered and/or
involved:

• Those who have been harmed, and their families

• Those who have caused harm, and their families

• Community

3 aspirations guide restorative justice: the desire to live
in right relationship…

• with one another;

• with the creation;

• with the Creator.

Read Howard’s whole
article, which addresses other definitional matters.