Source: (2002) In, Lode Walgrave, ed., Restorative Justice and the Law. Devon, UK: Willan Publishing. Pp. 82-100.
R. A. Duff’s thesis is this: responses to crime should aim for restoration or restorative justice; but the kind of restoration necessitated by criminal wrongdoing is properly achieved through a process of retributive punishment. This can be put another way: offenders should suffer retribution for their crimes; but the essential purpose of such punishment should be to achieve restoration. His slogan, therefore, is ‘Restoration through retribution.’ As Duff remarks, this position puts him at odds with restorative justice advocates and with critics of restorative justice who argue in favor of a ‘just deserts’ retributivism. To make his case, Duff examines what restorative justice should mean in the context of wrongdoing; he then applies this perspective on restoration to crime, mediation, and punishment.
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