Restorative Justice Individual restorative justice paper: Case study

Traditionally, the debate about the purpose of the justice system has revolved around the question of whether punishment should be retributive or rehabilitative in nature. Those who favor a retributive model stress the need for criminals to pay their debts to society and view the purpose of the justice system as primarily to punish convicts through confinement and forcing them to work. Those who advocate a rehabilitative model stress the need to reform prisoners, through measures such as education and counseling. They believe that imprisonment alone merely embitters prisoners and reinforces convict's sense of membership in an ostracized, criminal class. Also the desire for revenge, while understandable on the part of the victim, is not a base emotion that should necessarily be acknowledge by the justice system

The restorative model attempts to provide a different perspective of how to deal with criminals and criminality. The need for the person or the community who was harmed by the crime to be 'made whole' is acknowledged in restorative justice models, but the needs of the criminal to make reparations emotionally are also honored. In the case study, Mildred's home was burgled by Ed and David, leaving her feeling violated as well as upset at the loss of her belongings. Initially, through the help of the community, Mildred's home was restored to its original state, and her family gave her a place to stay while she recovered from the trauma of the...

This underlines how recovery and restitution is always a communal, rather than an individualistic process.
What is controversial about restorative justice, however, is the notion that the perpetrators of the crime become involved in the restorative aspects of the justice system, not simply helpful volunteers and friends and family. The defendant or convicted criminal will meet with the victim and decide the best way to 'make things right.' In contrast to the conventional justice system, in which a judge must hand down a sentence according to the guidelines of the law, the restorative process is organic, and evolves in the form of a dialogue between victim and perpetrator. The victim feels more empowered and in control of how the process takes shape, but speaking with the perpetrator also humanizes the perpetrator. The perpetrator learns from the experience, as he or she witnesses firsthand the damage done to another human being he or she has caused through thoughtless action. Both the perpetrator and the victim's needs are addressed. For example, David offered to pay Mildred half of what could not be recovered from the crime, which required him to get a job and gain more structure in his life. His family members offered to spend more time with David, as did his former baseball coach.

In the case of Mildred, the harm was not only done to Mildred, but also to her family, who naturally worried about her more now that her house had been burgled and who were forced to accommodate her as she recovered from the…