Corrections Corner / Deacon John Cord

Restorative justice: an alternative path for offender and victim

In past columns, I have written about the brokenness of our criminal justice system. In this column, I want to introduce you to an alternative to the current system of punishment through long prison sentences. This alternative is called “restorative justice.”

In restorative justice, the person who committed the offense is given the responsibility to make reparations directly to the person or people that he or she harmed. This means that offenders must first apologize to the person, face to face. Then they must make efforts to restore what was harmed. This may be more than just replacing a stolen or damaged item. Finally, the offender must agree to make changes in their life that led them to commit the crime.

As a part of restorative justice, the person who was harmed must agree to go through the process with the person who harmed them. This may sound a bit cruel, but it has been proven to be much more healing to the victim compared to enduring days and weeks of court trials where their entire life may end up being painfully on public display.

Many cities across the U.S. are beginning to test the waters by introducing restorative justice systems as an alternative to the standard criminal justice system.

As Catholics, using restorative justice should make sense based on our formation in Catholic social teaching. Not only is this process more humane to the offender and the victim, but it also theoretically makes society whole by treating people with compassion and healing.

In the restorative justice practice, the offender would not go to a traditional trial. The offender would first be interviewed by social workers trained and dedicated to this practice. The entire case would be reviewed so the social worker would understand what caused the offense, who was harmed and what needs to be restored.

The victim and the offender would then be invited to counseling meetings, at first separately, but finally together. In these sessions, the offender would be able to understand the full impact of their actions on the victim and how their actions affected the victim’s life.

The victim would then express their loss and what would need to be done to make them whole again. For example, if the offense was a burglary, the offender would be asked to do their best to restore the items. If the offense was more intrusive, then a process would be agreed to by the victim and the offender to hopefully repair the damage done as well as possible.

Finally, the offender would be required to enter counseling to learn how to modify the issues that caused them to commit the offense. Are they addicted to drugs? Did they commit the burglary because they wanted money to buy drugs? Then the answer is to enter a drug rehabilitation program. Did the person commit a violent crime? Did they do this because they were in a gang or for other reasons? Then the offender would enter a program similar to Homeboy Industries Gang rehabilitation program, an initiative begun in 1988 in Los Angeles by Jesuit Father Gregory Doyle. It is the largest gang rehabilitation and re-entry program in the world.

Restorative justice is a new and exciting option. It is growing across the U.S. I am sure we will learn more about restorative justice as it rolls into court systems near us. Have an open heart and mind when it does.
 

(Deacon John Cord is the Coordinator of Corrections Ministry for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. To volunteer in prison ministry, check with your parish office to see if a ministry already exists. If not, contact Deacon Cord at jcord@archindy.org.) †