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Restorative Justice In Prisons

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Restorative Justice In Prisons
Restorative Justice
Gregory Williams
Grantham University

Restorative Justice I have a strong passion for the topic I am about to speak on. As a former correctional officer working with both juveniles and adult offenders, I could see very little difference in their thought patterns. Prisons and detention facilities are supposed to act as a deterrent to criminal activity. I mean being unpleasant, potential offenders are suppose to be afraid of going to prisons. However, I found out that it doesn’t work that way. The criminal mind …show more content…
I mean wanting revenge and retribution is normal and understandable. It is human to want someone else to suffer as he or she has made you suffer. However turning into the very thing you detest is not the answer either. Restorative justice is a systematic response to wrongdoing that requires restoration to victims in cash or in kind and sincere repentance. Retributive justice rarely focuses on healing, victims, communities, restoration, or changes of heart and mind. During my time as a correctional officer, I met many young offenders who had no sense of moral responsibility because they though their crimes were against the government or property. It did not occur to them that their crimes might have traumatized a human being. What restorative justice does is it puts awareness of damages to victims at the top of the agenda, and it’s often done in confrontational discussion settings (Aitken, 2004). A few of the main criticism of restorative justice is many people believe that treatment programs for offenders is not tough enough and it makes prisons more tolerable and less punitive, it fails to provide adequate protection for individuals rights, it puts pressure on the victim, and it plays on offenders conscience and wouldn’t really affect a repeat offender who is used to committing crimes (Moroney, 2011). Some people ask why should convicted felons receive services for free while hard working law abiding people have to pay for them. As a result of this kind of thinking we have jails and prisons overcrowded due to enormous rates of recidivism. Restorative justice is not appropriate for all crimes. However, in crimes or conflict where it is appropriate, its success is shown by the reduced
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