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For meaningful change to happen, it must come from a cultural shift in society. A better system cannot be designed from the top down. A good place to start is

For meaningful change to happen, it must come from a cultural shift in society. A better system cannot be designed from the top down. A good place to start is to shift the very conception of "justice" from "make the bad guy pay" to "make the victim whole." (This is your restorative justice, I believe.) If a larger and larger proportion of society sees justice in a different light, then things will change. Juries will no longer hand down indictments or convictions for whole classes of victimless crimes. More focus will be placed on arrangements between criminal and victim that are agreeable to both parties, rather than a heavy-handed sentence from the state to "send a message."

sokoloff 8y ago
What is the restorative justice solution for murder, rape, or battery causing permanent physical harm? I agree our justice system is somewhat out of hand, but I also believe that there is a (tiny) sliver of the human population who need to be removed from walking the streets freely.
- Youden 8y ago
  Where the victim can't be made whole due to irreversible harm, salvage what remains of the situation and rehabilitate the offender. That may require imprisonment but the imprisonment should be focused on rehabilitating the imprisoned so that they can be quickly released and become productive members of society. If an offender can't or won't be rehabilitated, only then should they be left to rot. They should at least be kept in humane conditions however.
- jwagenet 8y ago
  Check out the podcast “Ear Hustle” for a window into the world of criminals who have been able to walk back the behaviors that caused their crimes. There are certainly individuals who never look inward and take responsibility for their actions, but many figure things out after 5-10 years and have no opportunity to repent for another 25.
deogeo 8y ago
> A good place to start is to shift the very conception of "justice" from "make the bad guy pay" to "make the victim whole." I'm a full supporter of the eye-for-an-eye school of justice as retribution, and I still find the US system far too severe and unfair (other countries' too, but less so). I think people just have the wrong idea about how the system works (or doesn't), how terrifying it must be to be tried for a felony even if you're innocent. And for most felonies, with the exception of rape and (attempted) murder, even eye-for-an-eye would prescribe a far lower sentence. What's needed isn't for the conception of justice to change, but for people to realize how broken the current system is.
- candiodari 8y ago
  Since the vast majority of crimes are committed by people with much less means than the victims, you cannot make the victim whole. If you think otherwise: courts are public, go and sit in one a few hours. This idea that perpetrators can make victims whole, even partly, won't surive 30 minutes.
  - deogeo 8y ago
    Did you mean to reply to my parent post? Because 'eye for an eye' is certainly not intended to make the victim whole.
closeparen 8y ago
You’re describing the civil court system.

sokoloff 8y ago

What is the restorative justice solution for murder, rape, or battery causing permanent physical harm? I agree our justice system is somewhat out of hand, but I also believe that there is a (tiny) sliver of the human population who need to be removed from walking the streets freely.

Youden 8y ago
Where the victim can't be made whole due to irreversible harm, salvage what remains of the situation and rehabilitate the offender. That may require imprisonment but the imprisonment should be focused on rehabilitating the imprisoned so that they can be quickly released and become productive members of society. If an offender can't or won't be rehabilitated, only then should they be left to rot. They should at least be kept in humane conditions however.
jwagenet 8y ago
Check out the podcast “Ear Hustle” for a window into the world of criminals who have been able to walk back the behaviors that caused their crimes. There are certainly individuals who never look inward and take responsibility for their actions, but many figure things out after 5-10 years and have no opportunity to repent for another 25.

deogeo 8y ago

> A good place to start is to shift the very conception of "justice" from "make the bad guy pay" to "make the victim whole." I'm a full supporter of the eye-for-an-eye school of justice as retribution, and I still find the US system far too severe and unfair (other countries' too, but less so). I think people just have the wrong idea about how the system works (or doesn't), how terrifying it must be to be tried for a felony even if you're innocent. And for most felonies, with the exception of rape and (attempted) murder, even eye-for-an-eye would prescribe a far lower sentence. What's needed isn't for the conception of justice to change, but for people to realize how broken the current system is.

candiodari 8y ago
Since the vast majority of crimes are committed by people with much less means than the victims, you cannot make the victim whole. If you think otherwise: courts are public, go and sit in one a few hours. This idea that perpetrators can make victims whole, even partly, won't surive 30 minutes.
- deogeo 8y ago
  Did you mean to reply to my parent post? Because 'eye for an eye' is certainly not intended to make the victim whole.

closeparen 8y ago

You’re describing the civil court system.