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Retired prison warden Tim Newell writes, "A significant development
in community justice is the emergence from within our communities of a
partnership approach between interested groups and agencies, supported by
statutory bodies, such as the police and probation services. These
movements are closer to the real needs of communities and are becoming
increasingly accountable to them. The involvement of faith communities in
such partnerships provides for the spiritual dimension to be expressed in
action.
"The development of partnerships between the agencies involved in
criminal justice and local community groups has been a remarkable story of
successful grassroots activity, responding to the needs of the area in
which they are based." --Forgiving Justice: The Swarthmore Lecture
2000
Here in Idaho, specifically Latah County, this paradigm shift toward
community and state partnerships is beginning to build roots in which the
roots of restorative justice can grow. Once again this week the
"professionals" have displayed their willingness to "walk the talk" of
restorative justice. We are entering an exciting time when the state is
reaching out to the community, again. The co-option of restorative justice
that Jim Consedine talks about is valid, especially in some places.
However, I think a more serious concern is apathy, in Moscow and beyond.
Locally the response has been very, very interesting and hopefully we'll
be able to build upon this early commitment.
Requests are coming for more articles and tools to think about the
new paradigm-- today's offering is from Thomas W. Porter Jr. an attorney
working in Boston.
Tony B.
Restorative justice is a paradigm that was developed over the last twenty years by practitioners working in the field of criminal justice. Because of these modern roots, the concept has been almost exclusively identified with criminal justice. In fact, most people in the field of conflict transformation and peacemaking associate the term with the role of the state, with individual cases and with the violation of rules and norms. Restorative justice is ultimately about the violation of people and relationships, not rules and norms. It is ultimately about community as well as individuals. The time has come for this concept to be freed from this narrow identification with criminal justice and recognized for what it is—a key paradigm for our legal system both civil and criminal, for mediation and for peacebuilding in all areas of conflict transformation. What is the goal of mediation? What is the goal of conflict transformation? What is the goal of peacebuilding? Bush and Folger in their book The Promise of Mediation suggested that the goals were recognition and empowerment. They argue that life is about relationships and that mediation is much more resolving the immediate issue in a conflict. Recognition and empowerment are important aspects of the process, but is not the goal more than this? Is not the goal, as John Paul Lederach would say, nothing less than reconciliation? For Bush and Folger, reconciliation is generally beyond the capacity of what they feel the process can accomplish. For Lederach, reconciliation is where truth, mercy, justice and peace meet. In its use of the words "restorative" and "justice" together, I suggest that restorative justice is a paradigm that gives definition to what is meant by reconciliation and describes the goal of conflict transformation and peacebuilding. Reconciliation, for Lederach, includes most of what is meant by restorative justice, including the element of justice. Moreover, restorative justice needs to be informed by the work of people like Lederach, especially in the area of working with structural injustice and strategic peacebuilding. However, for all too many reconciliation involves a peaceful coming back together of folks without emphasizing that such restoration of relationship must be transformed by justice, making sure that the relationship is a right relationship. Restorative justice holds together the two words "restorative" and "justice" in a dynamic relationship with each other. The goal is restoration or reconciliation. This is not, however, a restoration that is simply going back to what was the relationship or the status quo in an unjust community or society. In restorative justice, relationships are never just between one person and another. They are always ultimately communal. Relationships need to be transformed in order to deal with the inherent conflict and, in many cases, inequities in the relationships. The meaning of "restorative" is transformed by its association with "justice." The goal is also justice. However, this is not retributive justice, which looks to the past to assess guilt and give out punishment. The metaphorical relation with "restorative" transforms the concept of "justice" so it is about right relations. The goal of restorative justice is the fulfillment of the obligations of relationships. The goal is the transforming of relationships so that they are closer to the goal of right relations. Restorative justice looks to the future to heal harm, make right, and reintegrate everyone into a new community. So the meaning of "justice" is also transformed by its association with "restoration." Restorative justice, for me, is more clearly the place where truth, justice, mercy and peace meet. Truth is seen as the deep sharing and hearing of each other’s stories in a way that vindicates and empowers. Justice is seen as acknowledgment and restitution and respect for the other. It is not retributive, but restorative. Mercy recognizes that apology and forgiveness are mutually needed for restoration or reconciliation as well as for the acknowledgment that is key to justice. Peace becomes a real peace based on right relations. Ultimately, as people who are created by their relations,
In all conflict we need to put the healing of the harm to the victims at the forefront of all our efforts, recognizing that in most conflicts there are victims on all sides of the conflict. We need to focus on acknowledgment and restitution as the approach that is needed for offenders, victims, and communities. We need to encourage dialogue and mediation, not an adversarial process. Ultimately, as people who are created by their relations, we need to build community. Restorative justice is the paradigm for community building. With any goal, we need to recognize that there are various waystations on the way to that goal. Being realistic, and not wanting to create unreasonable expectations, we need to affirm various points on the continuum of conflict transformation Sometimes an agreement to cease violence and to create safe spaces is all that can be accomplished. Other times. relationships can be fully reconciled. Both results should be celebrated, as well as even lesser accomplishments on this journey to restorative justice, with the paradigm of restorative justice being the omega point pulling and guiding the journey. One of the remarkable aspects of this paradigm of restorative justice is the way it is recognized and affirmed by folks from various religious traditions as well as secular traditions, and from folks from various points on the ideological spectrum. Albert Einstein believed in a unified theory of physics. Howard Zehr and his compatriots have offered us the possibility of a unifying paradigm of conflict transformation. We are all in their debt |
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