Restorative Justice (Pt. 3)

Instead of punishment for the sake of punishment, restorative justice tries to fix the harm done in a crime. It can function within our current criminal justice system in many ways. Community service helps repair damage done to a community, which suffers from every crime. When the type of service relates to the crime committed, it can also be especially transformative for the offender. Through different types of programs (therapy, support groups, mental health support), victim assistance aids those most affected by a crime. This helps heal the damage done more than just locking the offender up.

These types of restorative justice are easy to implement for misdemeanors and less serious crimes and have shown positive results in the last 20 years. As opposed to traditional forms of justice which often fail to uphold the human dignity of offenders, restorative justice offers the opportunity for reconciliation and healing while still emphasizing accountability. One of its largest obstacles to further implementation is its opposition to serious crimes. Many DAs across the country prohibit crimes like sexual assault and murder from using restorative justice. 

DA Satana Deberry of Durham, NC, did not, however, and through reconciliation and years of dialogue between the relatives of the victim and murderer Donald Fields Jr., Fields Jr. received a conditional release after six years in pretrial incarceration instead of a life sentence. I’m not sure I could do the full story justice by summarizing it here, but I recommend reading this interview with a reporter who wrote extensively on the story. 

If you didn’t just read that, I want to share something Field Jr.’s judge said to the reporter in response to opponents of restorative justice who believe it’s not tough enough on crime: Restorative justice is in many ways tougher on crime than retribution because it’s harder to accept accountability than serve a punishment. 

I want to emphasize that I don’t advocate for mandatory restorative justice laws. It seems like mandatory forms of sentencing generally harm criminals within the system and even violate Catholic Social Teaching. I’ll argue that next week.