Restorative Justice: A Model of Healing
Philosophy Consistent With Social Work Values
Instead of retribution, restorative justice emphasizes truth,
accountability and healing.
By Sheryl Fred, News Staff
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| Illustration: John Michael
Yanson |
Paula Kurland has said that she died on Sept. 13, 1986, the day
her 21-year-old daughter Mitzi was brutally stabbed to death in
Austin, Texas.
It wasn't until she met her daughter's killer two weeks before
his execution in 1998 that she admitted to feeling alive again.
Although she could never forgive Jonathan Nobles' actions, after
a five-hour discussion with him, Kurland was surprised to feel
not only relief, but also some level of compassion for the man
about to face lethal injection.
"I walked out of death row a new person," she told
PBS in a 2003 report on the death penalty.
This widely publicized case is one of the more striking examples
of the power of restorative justice — a relatively nascent movement
that turns the traditional criminal justice model on its head.
Instead of focusing solely on retribution, restorative justice
emphasizes truth, accountability and, most important, healing
for the victim, offender and community.
Restorative justice, the roots of which lie largely in indigenous
traditions, comes in many forms. Family group conferencing, derived
from the Maori people of New Zealand, is an alternate form of
sentencing that involves the victim, offender and the family and
friends of both in resolving a criminal or delinquent incident.
Peacemaking circles, based on Native American talking circles,
bring people together to speak as equals about troubling issues
in their communities.
What Kurland and Nobles engaged in is called victim-offender
mediation (VOM), also referred to as victim-offender dialogue,
reconciliation or conferencing. Generally used post-adjudication
in cases of everything from petty crime to rape and murder, VOM
involves counseling victims and offenders and then bringing them
together for a frank discussion. Usually run by nonprofit groups,
criminal justice systems and faith-based organizations, it is
the most common and most studied form of restorative justice in
the country today.
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From February 2005 NASW News. © 2005 National
Association of Social Workers. All Rights Reserved. NASW News
articles may be copied for personal use, but proper notice of
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