Source: (2006) Voma Connections. Winter 2005-2006(22):1,14.
Such examples allude to the ways in which restorative justice’s paradoxical rejection and acceptance of key concepts in criminal justice constrains its early promise to offer an alternative approach, a new “lens†and practice, through which to seek justice. Yet for
all that, I think at least pointing to the paradox helps us understand that we are products of a time, and that we (specifically) are in large measure shaped by widely purveyed cultural assumptions about crime, victims,
offender and community. It helps us think about the enormity of the challenge involved in considering alternative forms of justice; but it also helps
us grasp the crucial significance of never allowing ourselves to imagine that our historically situated endeavors will ever rid themselves of paradox,
especially when pursuing a more or less infinite promise like justice. (excerpt)
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