In the Novel, Things Fall Apart by Achebe, readers witness the Ibo justice system in action throughout the story. During the week of peace, protagonist, Okonkwo acts in rage therefore resulting in punishment. His belongings are also burned, and he is exiled as punishment after an accidental shooting. Overall, there are four forms of justice: distributive justice, procedural justice, restorative justice, and retributive justice. I would like to focus on the last two, restorative and retributive justice (the ones readers see the most in the novel). Restorative justice restores order. An example of this type of justice is an easy apology. Restoration means returning back to the original state, so it may consist of some sort of repentance to demonstrate one is in fact apologetic. …show more content…
On the other hand, retributive justice is founded strictly on the principle of punishment. The intention of this form of justice is to discourage the violator from engaging in any future acts that are wrong. The Ibo justice system is founded on restitution rather than retribution. The goal is to restore balance to its rightful state versus just penalizing the wrong doer. It is no doubt the Ibo people handle justice differently than current day United States of America. The process as a whole is just different. In the USA we have established basic rights which are known to us as the amendments. Stated in the eighth amendment, it is noted that there shall be no cruel, unusual, or excessive punishment furnished upon any person. These rights apply to all people. While the Ibo and USA have similar ideals on justice, the superficial ways justice is handled contrasts
While The Little Book of Restorative Justice for Colleges and Universities has many merits it also posses some off-putting weaknesses. Karp opens his work up for criticism and makes it less likely to be accepted or seen as a serious alternative to the traditional disciplinary systems with the inclusion of frivolous illustrations and talks of the spiritual. The Little Book also lacks much evidence outside of personal testimony or the authors own reasoning —while that can be strong evidence, empirical evidence have a place in this discussion.
Restorative Justice, according to Google, is a system of criminal justice that focuses on the rehabilitation of offenders through reconciliation with victims and the community at large. It does not have a place in our society for several reasons. It is ineffective because it doesn’t punish people, doesn’t change them, and makes the situation even worse in most cases.
Our current system of law and justice is oriented completely to the offender. “Restorative” justice is a term used to describe a number of programs that seek to do…what? What is “Restorative” justice and how may it work? Pg 67
Restorative justice is defined as “using humanistic, no punitive strategies to right wrongs and restore social harmony” (Siegel, 2008, p. 189). Instead of imposing harsh penalties on offenders like long prison sentences or even the death penalty, restorative justice calls for a more rehabilitative approach, such as reconciliation and offender assistance.
The violation of law is not the sole focus in the restorative process. It is an attempt to repair the harm of the offense by having those directly involved mutually agree how the offender can best compensate or restore their victim, community, and self (Saxon, 2013). Traditional methods of justice often remove the victim from the community and relies only on the direction of laws to impose sentences on the offender (Saxon, 2013). One of the major drawbacks of this process is that it empowers victims, offenders, and communities in making the sentencing agreement and may result in some offenders being sentenced more harshly for the same crime another person committed (Saxon, 2013).
Restorative Justice was created in effort to repare the victim of a crime (emotionally and mentally), along with restoring the criminals view and attitude towards the public/community. It is based off the Christian belief of forgiving, and working things out with the one who has done you wrong. Restorative Justice has the community focus on the victim, and takes the criminals attention away from his/her punishment. This justice system works “through a process of negotiation, meditation, victim empowerment, and reparation” (“Restorative Justice”). Restorative Justice is often used in elementary schools. For example, if a kid picked on you, you were sent into the hallway to talk through it with them. This is Restorative Justice. This justice
Restorative justice is a system of criminal justice that emphasizes the rehabilitation of offenders through mending ties with the victims and the community. A better explanation of restorative justice is a theory of justice that emphasizes repairing the harm caused by criminal behavior. It is best accomplished through cooperative processes that include everyone involved. This can lead to transformation of people, relationships and communities.
Restorative justice is a system of criminal justice that focuses on the rehabilitation of offenders through reconciliation with victims and the community at large. Understanding the definition may be really hard to understand, however when we put it in a different form that many can understand it comes down to repair, encounter and transformation. Our book describes restorative justice in three parts as accountability, community protection and competency development (Sieh, 2006).
Generally, restorative system is seen by the public and government as ‘backward’, undemocratic and traditional practices that are not in line with “broader development goals” (Wojikowska, 2006, p. 13). Therefore, there are concerns that acceptance of restorative justice programs poses the risk of ‘low-quality’ justice for the poor and marginalized (Roder, 2013). Also, this system has been criticized for its inherent flexibility, possible leniency, focus on consensus-based decision making and application of rules that may be applied inconsistently and resulting outcomes that may be arbitrary (Kariuki,
Rooted in our civilization, restorative justice was once viewed as a sin against a sovereign society of a King, Queen, or Emperor. Albert Eglash (1975) first articulated restorative justice over retributive and rehabilitative justice, an indeed search for the original status of security of the victim’s feelings. Restorative Justice, a more victim-centered aspect of punishment than the offender, however, the victim should consider, what it is that restorative justice will restore to its original state of security, and would it be enough justice that the victim seeks.
“Restorative justice is a process whereby parties with a stake in a specific offence collectively resolve how to deal with the aftermath of the offence and its implications for the future” (Munchie, 2004).
The criminal justice system views any crime as a crime committed against the state and places much emphasis on retribution and paying back to the community, through time, fines or community work. Historically punishment has been a very public affair, which was once a key aspect of the punishment process, through the use of the stocks, dunking chair, pillory, and hangman’s noose, although in today’s society punishment has become a lot more private (Newburn, 2007). However it has been argued that although the debt against the state has been paid, the victim of the crime has been left with no legal input to seek adequate retribution from the offender, leaving the victim perhaps feeling unsatisfied with the criminal justice process.
Under the retributive justice system, justice is achieved by finding out which law was broken, who broke it, and punishing the offender. The offender is then sentenced to repay the state for his/her crime against it by serving a sentence of some sort, usually in the form of jail or prison time. In the restorative system, justice is achieved by figuring the harm done, the repair s needed for the harm, and who should repair it. The offender is then accountable to the victim and the community. The state then has the responsibility to ensure that the offender is held accountable to the victim.
This paper will focus on retributive justice and restorative justice. Let’s begin with the definition of each. Retributive justice is a theory of justice that considers that punishment, if proportionate, is a morally acceptable response to crime. On the other hand, restorative justice is the opposite. It is a theory of justice that focuses on the needs of the victims and the offenders. So which of these should be morally right?
Restorative or Community Justice is a fairly new concept. It is aimed more at repairing damages caused by the crime to the victim(s) and the community involved. In this method the victim lays out conditions for the offender and what is necessary to help repair any losses. The community provides assistance to help restore the offender to the community. Some say that this method can be dangerous and bypasses certain safeguards.