A Gauranteed Justice System Essay Research Paper — страница 2
involves the community in the justice process, therefore being more appealing to those affected. Restorative justice is different from the contemporary system in three main areas. First, restorative justice views criminal acts differently; instead of lawbreaking, it identifies offenders as harmful to themselves, their victim and the community. Second, instead of handing the case over to the government, restorative justice includes more participants such as the victim and the community. Lastly, victory in a criminal situation is defined differently. Instead of dwelling on the length or severity of a punishment, it focuses on how many harms were repaired or prevented ( Tutorial ). There are three different ways restorative justice can be implemented. h Victim-Offender Mediation This involves an interested victim to meet his offender in a safe and structured setting, engaging in a discussion of the crime with the assistance of a trained mediator. The goals of this process include: permitting victims to meet their offenders on a voluntary basis, encouraging the offender to learn about the crime s impact and to take responsibility for the resulting harm, and providing victim and offender the opportunity to develop and plan that addresses the harm ( Tutorial ). h Family or Community Group Conferencing This process brings together the victim, offender, and family, friends and key supporters of both in deciding how to address the aftermath of the crime. The goals of conferencing include: giving the victim an opportunity to be directly involved in responding to the crime, increasing the offender s awareness of the impact of his or her behavior and providing an opportunity to take responsibility for it, engaging the offender s support system for making amends and shaping the offender s future behavior, and allowing the offender and the victim to connect to key community support ( Tutorial ). h Peacemaking or Sentencing Circles This is a process designed to develop consensus among community members, victims, victims supporters, offenders, offender supporters, judges, prosecutors, defense counsel, police and court workers on an appropriate sentencing plan that addresses the concerns of all interested parties. The goals of circles include: promoting healing of all affected parties, giving the offender the opportunity to make amends, giving victims, offenders, family members and communities a voice and shared responsibility in finding constructive resolutions, addressing underlying causes of criminal behavior, and building a sense of community around shared community values ( Tutorial ). There are three roles that are necessary to be filled in the process of restorative justice: the victim s role, the offender s role, and the community s role. The victim s role is very important in partially restoring themselves and the community (Turpin). It is important that the victim expresses their feelings, their story and actively participate in the progress the offender makes in the direction of making things right (Smith). The victim s role can sometimes be painful in thinking back to their fears and losses, but this is an essential element that must be successfully relayed to the offender by the victim. The offender must understand the needs and concerns of the one they violated to make restorative justice successful (Turpin). It is important that the victim is endowed with power, respect and is provided with the needed services such as healthcare, mental health services, and financial compensation (Miller). The community s role in the process of restorative justice is also very important. The community plays an important part in aiding the victim in the healing process. Society needs to intervene and help the victim whenever possible and effectively restore the victim in order to dispel the negative effects of the crime (Viano). The community is needed to provide resources and energy for prevention, intervention, and education (Smith). The community s resources are also needed to develop the skills and competency of the offender, resulting in the offender s understanding of his actions and the effects the action had on the victim and the community (Smith). The offender s role is to accept accountability to their victims and to carry out the responsibilities of restoring the victim and community through repairing the harm caused. If the offender was only punished, it does not give them ample opportunity to accept responsibility for the harm they caused and repair the damage. If the issue is not dealt with on a personal level, the offender may not fully understand the consequences or senseless pain inflicted on the victim and community. Punishment only is not
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