Restorative Justice

Source: (2004) Studies in Crime and Punishment, v. 5. New York: Peter Lang Publishing.

In this book, Ruth Ann Strickland looks at how restorative justice works – the beneficial and detrimental effects and implications of restorative justice – in relation to defendants, victims, the courtroom workgroup, corrections, and the community. Toward this end, Strickland begins in chapter one by defining restorative justice, describing its origins, and examining some restorative justice practices in the United States. She then addresses the effects of restorative justice on defendants and offenders in chapter two. In chapter three she provides an overview of the victims rights’ movement and the role of the victim in restorative justice practices. This leads to a detailed examination in chapter four of how the courtroom workgroup (police, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and judges) could incorporate restorative justice practices in the traditional criminal justice system. She continues in chapter five by defining the community’s relationship to restorative justice. Then in chapter six she deals with the effects of restorative justice techniques (e.g., sentencing circles, reintegrative shaming, and victim-offender reconciliation) on the correctional system. Strickland concludes in chapter seven by summarizing the findings in earlier chapters and discussing the implications of restorative justice for the traditional criminal justice system.