Source: (2002) Track Two. 11(2). Centre for Conflict Resolution. Downloaded 12 December 2003.
Sarah Henkeman begins this article by summarizing two basic and competing views of imprisonment. One view is that imprisonment is for punishment. The other is that imprisonment is applied as punishment, with rehabilitation as the goal. Henkeman, observing that the current state of prisons in South Africa seems to lead to a cycle of recidivism, pursues a more complex understanding of crime and imprisonment. In particular, she explores whether it is possible simultaneously to “punishâ€? and “restoreâ€? an offender to break the cycle of criminality and reduce crime. She points out as well that attention to crime victims must be integral to the goals of criminal justice. It is in this context that she argues for a dual logic of justice and peace as a more complex and more fitting response to the complex problem of crime.
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