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Reflections on the Purist and Maximalist Models of Restorative Justice

Boyes-Watson, Carolyn
June 4, 2015

Source: (2000) Contemporary Justice Review 3(4): 441-450

Among the major concerns of those who are interested in furthering restorative justice is whether there is a place for coercion of any kind in the healing process. If our answer to this question is in the negative, we need to keep watch over the means and ends of restorative justice programs, their processes and outcomes. Means are ends. At the same time, we must ask critical questions about how to respond to structural violence as well as the interpersonal violence that calls for a community’s attention. In all our work, we need to pay attention to the voices of those who have been harmed and those responsible for harms to discern what direction to take.

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