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Is Restorative Justice Compatible with Sentencing Uniformity?

O'Hear, Michael M.
June 4, 2015

Source: (2005) Marquette Law Review. 89(2):305-325.

Among skeptics of RJ, one of the standard answers is that we may
sacrifice uniformity in sentencing.10 Broadly speaking, uniformity means
that similarly situated offenders are sentenced similarly, while
differently situated offenders are sentenced appropriately differently.11
Since the 1970’s, uniformity has emerged as a—perhaps the—leading
objective of American sentencing systems.12 Accordingly, RJ advocates
cannot afford to ignore claims that RJ is incompatible with uniformity.13
In this Essay, I aim to examine such claims in a more analytically
rigorous fashion than has previously been attempted. (excerpt)

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