Marianta Undergoes Rehabilitation. Punishment Is Not Going

¶ … Marianta undergoes rehabilitation. Punishment is not going to help her. It will only stigmatize her and make her more likely repeat her crimes in the future, as well as reinforcing her impression that she is an addict and has a psychopathic personality; that that is a part of her and cannot be helped.

Rehabilitation -- or restorative judgment, on the other hand, believes that one should make a distinction between crimes perpetrated against society and crimes perpetrated against people. Zehr, for instance, claims that conventional criminal justice system views crime and justice through a retributive perspective where crime is seen as violating laws and justice is seen as condemning the other and demanding retribution (Zehr, 1990). In his own words, he describes "crime" as a "wound in human relationships," that "creates an obligation to restore and repair" (Zehr, 1990, 181) Restorative justice, on the other hand, according to Zehr, is far more encouraging and healthy in that it sees crime as violation of people and interpersonal relationships, rather than violation of a government law. Restorative justice is, therefore, more practical, more optimistic, and more constructive in that the offender is brought to see the other as a human, akin to himself, and, by making amends, repairs ties with the other person and restores the fabric of society. The differnce between the two perspectives of crime and justice is immense: conventional legal system sees the offender as violating government-implemented laws. Restorative justice, on the other hand, focuses on violation of social relationship and seeks to repair fractured interpersonal relationships.

Many criticize the fact that addiction is considered a crime. Liberals claim that the individual is in charge if his own body and the government should not interfere. It is only when one considers that involvement in drugs may fracture society that it makes sense that substance abuse become a crime. It is in this way too that the offender can more readily be helped. By he or she realizing the gravity of his offense and the way in which it harms others and by coming face-to-face with this reality -- it is in this way that the offender may be brought to more readily appreciate the consequences of his deed and may decide to reform. The same is true with his psychotic acts. Story after story has shown the benefits of restorative judgment / rehabilitation in comparison to the traditional approach of penalization. Restorative judgment is slightly different from rehabilitation in that it refers to a system where offenders make amends to the victims directly instead of to the criminal system by either atoning for hurts they have done to victim by placating victim in terms of monetary or other recompense, or involving themselves in community services or in other useful ways. Restorative Justice focuses around creating a dialogue between offender and victim where offenders are encouraged to become accountable for their actions and is led to recognizing the weight of their error. It is in this way that rehabilitation -- mental, spiritual, and physical cure -- is a subset of restorative judgment. The penalization of traditional criminal justice, on the other hand, only destructs.

Restorative justice consists of the 3 R's: restoration, reintegration, and responsibility. This is precisely what Mareinta needs.

In practical terms, Marianta's rehabilitation can consist of her joining an AA group where she may even be asked to take a leading position.

This also has a positive effect on her psychotic tendencies, since she is made to feel important and to help others. Being brought into close contact with others, getting to understand them, forming a support group (which she likely needs) and having a non-judgmental, warmly accepting group of friends may be the best medicine for her.