January 4th, 2013 at 3:02 pm
When Prisons Become Illegal
Futurist Thomas Frey
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Restorative justice is an approach to justice that focuses on the needs of the victims and the offenders, as well as the surrounding community.
Crime is a larger issue than just how government deals with criminals. Since crime victims and the community bear the brunt of the crime, they too must be actively involved in the criminal justice process.
Currently, many victims feel re-victimized by the criminal justice system itself because it excludes them from most of the process. Using a different approach, with restorative justice victims take an active role in the process, while offenders are encouraged to take responsibility for their actions, “to repair the harm they’ve done—by apologizing, returning stolen money, or community service”.
Restorative justice asks that victim’s concerns be considered throughout the process. Victims need help regaining a sense of control over their lives, and they need to be compensated for their loss.
Rather than simply warehousing offenders, restorative justice holds offenders personally accountable. They need to confront the pain they have caused to their victims and take the steps necessary to overcome their criminal behavior.
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The USA has too many in prison.
Time to try something different.
As far as capital punishment, I’d restrict that to inmates that are too dangerous to put in prison.
Libertarians generally believe in restitution. And, we’ve been saying it for a while.
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