5 Benefits of Restorative Justice Steve Shibes has a series which includes 5 worst problems with Retributive Justice and 5 benefits of Restorative Justice (both lists he admits were hard to limit to just 5 each). I thought he did a superb job of describing both approaches in accessible terms, when usually these require comparing detailed cases in order to see the difference. Short List he presents include these 5 Benefits of Restorative Justice: 1. It makes JUSTICE the work of the Community 2. It considers the interests of both victims and offenders 3. It allows for proportional punishments 4. It favors restitution over retribution 5. It is forward thinking NOTE: one thing that makes Restorative Justice harder than Retributive Justice is that its very strength - where restitution and rehab are decided mutually between victim, offender and the community affected, HELP cure the causes of the criminal problems while RESTORING healthy relationships and contribution to society - requires FREE WILL and VOLUNTARY participation, so it can't be simply dictated by law. However, the advantage people want from Retributive Justice, where laws dictate a uniform sentence and process, also makes that approach difficult as well: If there are exceptions or flaws in the process, the legal system is too often abused - either to throw cases out on technicalities, by following the laws uniformly, or to impose disproportionate sentencing that costs time and money to contest, also by following the laws. I thought Steve Shibes did a great job presenting both approaches. What is your feedback on Retributive Justice vs. Restorative Justice? Are there any points you would add?
