Justice as Sanctuary: Toward a New System of Crime Control.

Source: (1994) Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.

Bianchi suggests a non-punitive system of controlling criminality based on principles of conflict resolution. Current criminal law is alienating or anomic; eunomic system emphasizes the active responsibility of involved parties, and redefines conflict away from the criminal and society to the accused and victim or plaintiff. When agreement is reached, public prosecution should be withdrawn. The present system’s results in repression; an assensus model permits conflict resolution. Sanctuaries are proposed to replace jails, to facilitate dispute settlement and to protect the public in very violent crimes. The practical feasibility of a eunomic crime control system is discussed.