Criminal Justice Vs Restorative Justice

The arrest phase of a crime could have you at the very beginning of a long process through the American criminal justice system. For the most part, it doesn 't matter what state you are in, the steps are usually the same. After an arrest takes place a criminal is “booked” into police custody. This is where your photo and fingerprints are taken as a matter of record as well. Between now and any trials there is the matter of arraignment, possible plea bargaining, preliminary hearings and pre-trial motions. In the case that any plea offered to you is not to your liking your case then goes to a jury of your peers to decide whether you are guilty. The trial itself has multiple phases as well before a verdict will be reached. In the case that a …show more content…
Under restorative justice criminal activity is more than just a person violating the law. Crime causes sometimes irreparable harm to communities, people and their relationships. A response to the wrongdoing must include a response to the harm caused by the criminal actions. In the case that concerned parties are willing or able, one way to meet this intent is to help criminals and victims to meet to basically “talk things out”. Of course, much of the time I am sure a victim does not want to have a sit-down with someone who perpetrated harm upon them and there are other options to address …show more content…
This is not only applicable here at home but abroad where things like genocide or war crimes happen daily. If two nations were at war then the issue would be a war crime for which the guilty should pay. In cases where war is not a factor then things like genocide are in violation of human rights and again, the perpetrators must be brought to justice. Retributive justice is concerned also with putting everyone in their place. The long and short of it is that criminals deserve to serve out their time in prison for the things they have done. To the advocate of restorative justice, I don’t see how victims of crime will want to get together and have a chat about all the ways an offender has wronged them. The justice system is not a game and as I picture everyone sitting together around a table and talking about what the offender can do to restore things to the way they were for his victim, I almost laugh at the thought. I fully agree that the victims of crime should be helped back to the place they were before becoming victims but do not believe a restorative justice model to be the way there. Victim advocate programs are in place for this exact reason. Let them help the victims out with the things that they need and let the justice system work to make sure an offender is punished properly and thoroughly for what he has done to his victim and