God first loved us when we were still sinners and Jesus died for us while we were still His enemies (Romans 5:8). In order to maintain balance, God knew that tough laws (despite a human’s age) needed to be enacted due to the sinful nature of humankind. The Bible subscribes to a list of offenses with the mandated punishments set forth by God. Restorative Justice seeks to lace mercy with justice, remedy damage, re-establish dignity and re-integrate all who have been estranged and/or wounded; however, on the other side of the coin, does the focus on restorative justice (criminal rights) outweigh the rights of victims and their families?
Being a child and senior advocate, this student/advocate has reviewed and interviewed offenders and the families …show more content…
Nizmary had been starved, beaten and raped for years by her step father Cesar Rodriguez. On January 10, 2006 Rodriguez beat Nixzmary to death using his fists and a leather belt. He then drug her go the bathroom, stripped her naked and dowsed her with cold water. Her mother stood by as Rodriguez slammed Nixzmary’s head into the bathtub. She was then thrown into what was called “the dirty room” where she lay unconscious, bleeding and in respiratory distress for hours before her little body gave out (Lighting their way home, 2014).
On April 3, Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice L. Priscilla Hall, sentenced Cesar Rodriguez to a maximum term of 261⁄3 to 29 years in prison. He was given 25 years for first-degree manslaughter and 11⁄3 to 4 years for false imprisonment. Santiago was sentenced on November 12, 2008 to 43 years in prison. After her death, the major of New York City, Michael Bloomberg, ordered a complete overhaul of ACS and a law passed in New York State called Nizmary’s Law, mandating anyone convicted of murdering a child to be sentenced to 25 years to life without the possibility of parole (Morahan, …show more content…
It is unfortunate that the statutes and sentencing guidelines in many states do not reflect real justice for the victim, in fact they are an embarrassment. All states need to vote into law, Washington’s homicide by abuse statute (RCW 9A.32.055), which makes child abuse resulting in death the equivalent of first-degree murder. Under this statute, prosecutors no longer have to prove premeditation or intent to kill for a conviction. Instead, the state must show that the defendant displayed “extreme indifference to human life.” The writer of the bill stated, “Premeditation in child abuse cases is almost impossible to prove. This law gets around that oft-heard defense – I didn’t mean to kill the boy; I just wanted to discipline him (Gardner & Anderson, 2015).
There is definitely a place for restorative justice and it is generally reserved for first time offenders. Research does support the effectiveness of conferencing (one of the four restorative justice methods) in preventing recidivism for youth, as opposed to youth who had been sanctioned to traditional adjudication (Alarid, 2015). Restorative justice must be appropriately applied and reality is important. With this being said, one of my Professors gave me some food for thought and that
Being a child and senior advocate, this student/advocate has reviewed and interviewed offenders and the families …show more content…
Nizmary had been starved, beaten and raped for years by her step father Cesar Rodriguez. On January 10, 2006 Rodriguez beat Nixzmary to death using his fists and a leather belt. He then drug her go the bathroom, stripped her naked and dowsed her with cold water. Her mother stood by as Rodriguez slammed Nixzmary’s head into the bathtub. She was then thrown into what was called “the dirty room” where she lay unconscious, bleeding and in respiratory distress for hours before her little body gave out (Lighting their way home, 2014).
On April 3, Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice L. Priscilla Hall, sentenced Cesar Rodriguez to a maximum term of 261⁄3 to 29 years in prison. He was given 25 years for first-degree manslaughter and 11⁄3 to 4 years for false imprisonment. Santiago was sentenced on November 12, 2008 to 43 years in prison. After her death, the major of New York City, Michael Bloomberg, ordered a complete overhaul of ACS and a law passed in New York State called Nizmary’s Law, mandating anyone convicted of murdering a child to be sentenced to 25 years to life without the possibility of parole (Morahan, …show more content…
It is unfortunate that the statutes and sentencing guidelines in many states do not reflect real justice for the victim, in fact they are an embarrassment. All states need to vote into law, Washington’s homicide by abuse statute (RCW 9A.32.055), which makes child abuse resulting in death the equivalent of first-degree murder. Under this statute, prosecutors no longer have to prove premeditation or intent to kill for a conviction. Instead, the state must show that the defendant displayed “extreme indifference to human life.” The writer of the bill stated, “Premeditation in child abuse cases is almost impossible to prove. This law gets around that oft-heard defense – I didn’t mean to kill the boy; I just wanted to discipline him (Gardner & Anderson, 2015).
There is definitely a place for restorative justice and it is generally reserved for first time offenders. Research does support the effectiveness of conferencing (one of the four restorative justice methods) in preventing recidivism for youth, as opposed to youth who had been sanctioned to traditional adjudication (Alarid, 2015). Restorative justice must be appropriately applied and reality is important. With this being said, one of my Professors gave me some food for thought and that