Restorative Justice Definition

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Lokanan uses Zehr's definition to capture the different dynamics of how others may define what restorative justice is by saying " Restorative justice is a process to involve, to the extent possible, those who have a stake in a specific offense and to collectively identify and address harms, needs and obligations, in order to heal and put things as right as possible"(Lokanan, 290). This definition helps to account for the wrongs that have occurred and to repair the relationship between the offender, victim and community. I believe restorative justice is a punishment within it self because punishment is given to the offender to accept accountability for their actions, this form of punishment contains both restorative and punitive elements. …show more content…
A lot of times we may think the best form of punishment for the offender is inflicted physical pain, but restorative justice scholars have pointed out " punishment can have intrinsic qualities. For an offender to break down his/her empathetic wall to show empathy is itself a arduous task that requires courage and strength. Thus,restorative justice interventions do constitutes an element of punitiveness"( Lokanan,p.294). The actual process of acknowledging the harm and taking the reparation measures to make an amends is intended to be painful and burden as well for the offender (Duff,2000). It can be considered painful to spend the rest your life behind bars but its just as painful to come to the reality of what you have done and now must come face to face with victims. Their hurt will stick the offender for years to come but at least through restorative justice the offender will be able to make an amends and be able to get his life back on track for the