Martin Luther King Jr once said “True peace is not merely the absence of tension, it is the presence of Justice” (*****). In layman terms, the concept of justice is really the concept of balance and the glue that holds society together (****2). It is the idea of people getting what is right, fair, and appropriate based on their actions. It drives proper behaviors by upholding the righteous and punishing what is wrong and evil. Justice holds all men accountable to one another to perform their social and legal obligations to the community. Without justice, people would be able to do and take as the pleased without fear of repercussions or punishment for breaking the law. By implementing laws and standards of what is right, justice creates a safe
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In general, victims seek validation for their suffering, while some victims desire to be included in the criminal justice process. This can allow victims to be heard and can bring closure to them and their families. Justice, and more importantly the victims’ sense of justice can effectively reduce the risk of secondary victimization. Therefore, the correlation between justice and forgiveness is very important. The extent of the victims’ sense of justice and forgiveness depends on the approach to justice. Michael Wenzel1 and Tyler G. Okimoto study the relationship between restoration of justice and forgiveness. The study provides evidence that a restored sense of justice is overall positively related to forgiveness. However, the studies also revealed that forgiveness is highly dependent on the means of justice being retributive versus restorative in nature. Although both retributive and restorative justice increase forgiveness indirectly through increased feelings of justice, the findings showed that consensus-seeking restorative justice but not retributive responses led to greater forgiveness. Lastly, the studies showed that feelings of justice resulting from restorative responses were positively related to forgiveness, while feelings of justice resulting from retributive responses were not (Wenzel & Okimoto). Justice impacts the victim as much as the offender.
In general, victims seek validation for their suffering, while some victims desire to be included in the criminal justice process. This can allow victims to be heard and can bring closure to them and their families. Justice, and more importantly the victims’ sense of justice can effectively reduce the risk of secondary victimization. Therefore, the correlation between justice and forgiveness is very important. The extent of the victims’ sense of justice and forgiveness depends on the approach to justice. Michael Wenzel1 and Tyler G. Okimoto study the relationship between restoration of justice and forgiveness. The study provides evidence that a restored sense of justice is overall positively related to forgiveness. However, the studies also revealed that forgiveness is highly dependent on the means of justice being retributive versus restorative in nature. Although both retributive and restorative justice increase forgiveness indirectly through increased feelings of justice, the findings showed that consensus-seeking restorative justice but not retributive responses led to greater forgiveness. Lastly, the studies showed that feelings of justice resulting from restorative responses were positively related to forgiveness, while feelings of justice resulting from retributive responses were not (Wenzel & Okimoto). Justice impacts the victim as much as the offender.