Repairing the Harm: Restorative Justice

“Restorative justice,” which was administered hundreds of years ago by Native Americans, views crime as a harmful act against a person (or persons), rather than simply a wrong to “the system” or society at large. In Wisconsin, some prisons are teaching inmates the traumatic effect of their crimes by putting victims and criminals together for one-on-one meetings. Although most victims want to ask questions about the crime or talk about the impact on their lives, some want to meet the offender in order to show forgiveness. “When you get to the heart, that's where the hope is,” says the widow of a slain police officer, who worked through her own grief and rage. Restorative justice works beyond the big bad world of “murder one”: in a Colorado study, it was found to be 85% more effective than traditional punishment in juvenile justice situations involving fighting, theft, and vandalism. A youth teen court in Madison, WI allows peers to determine sentences for minor infractions (the process even works at the school level, as illustrated here in a program adopted by the Oshkosh School District). Featuring the Honorable Janine Geske, a former Wisconsin Supreme Court Judge who is also a national leader in the restorative justice movement, this overview of an alternative approach to crime and punishment is highly recommended. Aud: J, H, C, P. (R. Reagan)