Abstract
From a victim perspective, restorative justice has been shown usually to do better than the existing criminal justice system. It has met the burden of proof for benefiting one stakeholder in the process of justice. It might arguably lose that status if it is found that restorative justice also hurts offenders or communities. But in thousands of restorative justice conferences on three continents, no clear evidence has yet emerged that restorative justice has such negative side effects. Given the substantial evidence of unfairness and disrespect in the treatment of victims by criminal justice, restorative justice seems to be in a prime position to alleviate that problem. Arguments may be made against that claim in theory. But the evidence from practice lends little support to the theoretical objections. The sooner criminal justice opens its doors to victim participation in restorative justice, the sooner we can start to repair the harm from nine centuries of leaving victims behind.
Recommended Citation
Sherman, Lawrence W. and Strang, Heather
(2003)
"Repairing the Harm: Victims and Restorative Justice,"
Utah Law Review: Vol. 2003:
No.
1, Article 2.
Available at:
https://dc.law.utah.edu/ulr/vol2003/iss1/2