Week 3

Restorative Justice Paper
CJA/224
October 08, 2012
Attorney Walter H. Bentley III

Restorative Justice
Restorative Justice: “A sentencing model that builds on restitution and community participation in an attempt to make the victim “whole again”. Crime is an act against another person or the community. (Criminal Law Today: Frank Schmalleger, Ph.D.)
What restorative justice does?
Restorative justice has been considered as a way of diminishing the overcrowding of the prison, but unfortunately, it has contributed to the problem by removing consequences, increasing repeat offenses, and embitters many people, which led to them committing criminal acts. Restorative justice depends on a third person to control the actions between a victim and the offender. Most time the offender will default on their agreement, and this will cause them to go unpunished. When this happens, a criminal will continue to commit criminal acts because he or she believes that nothing will be done. Prisons will continue to be overcrowded with prisons because restorative justice does not eliminate the criminal acts by criminals (Mantle, Fox, & Dhami, 2008).
Concept of restorative justice
For many years, the goal for sentencing was restoration. Today’s notion of restorative justice has several concepts that identify needs. Three of the concepts are as follow (1) the need to compensate victims, (2) the need to place appropriate responsibility on the criminal offender, and (3) the need to attempt reintegration of the offender with the community. (Criminal Law Today: Frank Schmalleger, Ph.D.). The U.S Department of Justice did a report on restorative justice explaining it by saying “Crime was once defined as a ‘violation of the state.’ This remains the case today, but we now recognize that crime is far more. It is—among other things—a violation of one person by another. While retributive justice may address the first type of violation adequately, restorative justice is required to effectively address the latter. . . . Thus, [through restorative justice] we seek to attain a balance between the legitimate needs of the community, the . . . offender, and the victim.” (Criminal Law Today: Frank Schmalleger, Ph.D.).
Elements of a restorative response to injustice
There is a process when it comes to restorative justice. There are meetings that take place and an agreement is trying to be reached. First, in order to get to the agreement the meeting must take place. When having a meeting in a restorative process, the meeting is between both parties in the aftermath of the wrongdoing. Both parties must being willing to talk to one another respectfully and be willing to reach an agreement to resolve the wrongdoing and responsibilities of each party. It is best to have these meetings with both of the parties there, to have face-to-face conversations with one another. If one of the parties does not want to speak, they can use letters or another form of communication. The outcome of the meeting is to have a agreement that has been reached from the restorative process. When an offender whose has a matter that cannot be resolved by using the restorative process they must have a decision by the judicial system or a third party that is an official. They have to show reparation to the parties who have been harmed in the wrongdoing.
Conclusion
Crime control lies primarily in the community. (Criminal Law Today: Frank Schmalleger, Ph.D.). No one ever wants to be victimized by another individual, but it is sad to say these traumatic events do happen. Society has accepted that these events will happen and through time, society has changed how crimes of this nature will be handled, in order to successfully punish, rehabilitate, or stop things of this nature from taking place. Support systems have been set up to help the victim and criminal offender, very different from the days when the offender went in front of the victim’s family members to receive his or her punishment. Time has changed and so has the criminal justice system, which is better prepared to deal with crimes, this indeed makes society somewhat safer society as a whole fells the affects when an individual commits a crime.

References:
Criminal Law Today, Fourth Edition, by Frank Schmalleger, Ph.D. and Daniel E. Hall, J.D., ED.D. with John J. Dolatowski, J.D.
Courts and Criminal Justice in America, by Larry J. Siegel, Frank Schmalleger, and John L. Worrall.
Mantle, Fox, & Dhami, 2008

References: Criminal Law Today, Fourth Edition, by Frank Schmalleger, Ph.D. and Daniel E. Hall, J.D., ED.D. with John J. Dolatowski, J.D. Courts and Criminal Justice in America, by Larry J. Siegel, Frank Schmalleger, and John L. Worrall. Mantle, Fox, & Dhami, 2008