• Justice and the Church

• A Brief Introduction to Restorative Justice

Justice and the Church
By Susan S. Russell M.A.

Back in November, a forthright and challenging conversation unfolded around the presence of a controversial speaker in our church. Judge Ed Cashman’s talk on Dismas House occasioned some concern and great discussion regarding our criminal justice system, especially as it deals with sex offenses and other violent crimes. The discussion has been not only honest and respectful, but also fruitful.

A small group has met to begin organizing a workshop series on Justice and the Church. It will be an opportunity for all of us to learn more about the justice system in this country and to examine different theories and approaches to administering justice. While more details will be available in the February / March newsletter, suffice it to say now that we will be looking at 3 types of justice: retributive, restorative and parallel. Our own Susan Russell is a treasure trove of information and resources on this subject and has generously agreed to give us an introduction to the third type, as she did last month on the second one. And so, without further ado, we give you…Parallel Justice Parallel justice is a relatively new concept envisioned by Susan Herman, former Executive Director for the National Center for Victims of Crime. Parallel Justice is a framework for responding to crime with two separate parallel paths to justice-one for victims and one for offenders. The Parallel Justice framework involves both a governmental and a community response. Parallel justice is needed for a variety of reasons; many victims are not involved in the criminal justice system because their offender is not arrested. Many crime victims never step foot inside a courtroom. Our current criminal justice system is offender-oriented, so the criminal justice system is not intended to meet their needs. Parallel justice can offer much more than the criminal justice system can provide. It is a victim-centered process. It involves offenders, communities, and society at large in helping victims rebuild their lives and reintegrate into a productive community life.

The following are some of the guiding principles for implementing parallel justice ● First, when a crime is reported, in addition to our traditional criminal justice response, the safety of the victim would be a high priority for police and other criminal justice agencies.

● Second, every victim of crime would be offered immediate support, compensation for their losses, and practical assistance.

● Third, victims would have an opportunity to explain what happened to them, what the impact on their lives was, and what resources they might need to get their lives back on track. This opportunity would be provided through forums which would be conducted by an administrator whose job it would be to acknowledge the harm done and to develop appropriate service plans that would marshal government responses to meet victims' needs. Victim services and long-term assistance would then be coordinated by case managers.

Using this concept and guiding principles the National Center for Victims of Crime established The Parallel Justice Project. The National Center has been working with three communities throughout the nation to test the feasibility of the Parallel Justice concept as a new paradigm. Burlington, Vermont is one of them. The Parallel Justice Project is overseen by the Vermont Center for Crime Victim Services, an independent state agency responsible for overseeing victim assistance and compensation funding. The Burlington Parallel Justice Project has had active support from the Burlington Police Department, Burlington Community Justice Center, and various local social service agencies. Excerpts for this article and more information regarding Parallel Justice can be found at the National Center For Victims of Crime

http://www.ncvc.org/ncvc/main.aspx?dbID=dash_Home

We will be examining Justice concepts and programs such as restorative and parallel justice in March during our Justice and the Church workshop series. Stay tuned for more information regarding these workshops. In next month’s newsletter article we will examine the similarities and differences between restorative and parallel justice.

Susan S. Russell, M.A.

A Brief Introduction to Restorative Justice
By Susan S. Russell M.A.

It has recently come to my attention that the subject of restorative justice is surfacing among our church community; some people have indicated an interest in exploring this subject in more depth. Restorative justice is a concept that I have thoroughly explored and examined as I wrote my thesis for my Master of Arts degree on this very subject. I also have been fortunate to meet and work with Howard Zehr, considered by many as one of the leaders and the founding grandfathers of this movement. At present Howard is a professor of restorative justice for the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding, at the Eastern Mennonite University.

Restorative justice is a fairly new concept occurring within our criminal justice system. The concepts of restorative justice invite the reader to rethink about the response to crime and how justice is administered.

Currently the criminal justice system, at least in the United States, tends to be punitive, adversarial, impersonal, and state- administered and state -centered. Punitive practices such as imprisonment and prison reforms appear to be unsuccessful measures in responding to crime and the administration of justice. In addition, criminal justice measures often re-victimize victims, ignore the needs of victims and do not allow them to participate, except as witnesses or in the last stages of the criminal justice process, such as sentencing hearings. Although victim participation in the criminal justice system has improved over the past decades, due largely to social movements such as the Victims’ Rights Movement, the criminal justice system continues to remain retributive and does not promote the healing of victim traumatization.

There are several theorists who continue to work in this field and who have written at length about this subject; Howard Zehr and Mark Carey are two such individuals. Mark Carey, director of community corrections in Dakota Country, Minnesota informs us that “restorative justice is a philosophical framework for responding to crime and the actions needed to mend this harm”(Carey 1996:152). “It focuses on the injury resulting from crime as an act against another individual or the community rather than the state”(Carey 1996:152).

Restorative justice views crime as a violation or harm done to people and relationships. Therefore, the aim of justice is to assist the offender in identifying his or her obligations and responsibilities in repairing the harm caused by the crime. In addition, restorative justice principles concentrate on having communities or society hold offenders accountable as well as offering victims a greater role in the administration of justice.

I look forward to gathering together and embarking on a closer look at this subject. We are currently searching for a good time frame to do that. Stay tuned! For now, I leave you with the following quote from Howard Zehr.

“Crime is a violation of people and relationships. It creates obligations to make things right. Justice involves the victim, the offender, and the community in search for solutions which promote repair, reconciliation, and reassurance.” (Zehr 1995:181).

References Carey, Mark. Restorative Justice in Community Corrections Today August 1996 v58 n5 p152 (4).

Zehr, Howard "Justice Paradigm shift? Values and Visions in the Reform Process." Mediation Quarterly v12 # 3 Spring 1995. (209-217).

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