Restorative Justice?

Question

I am totally lost can someone tell me some information about restorative justice and:

How would a conservative reply to a call for more restorative justice? How would a restorative justice advocate respond to a conservative call for more prisons?


If Marx were alive today, what would he think about the prosperity enjoyed by the working class in industrial societies? Might he alter his vision of the capitalist system?

Answer 1

Restorative justice deals with the concept that it is more important to attempt to "restore" a crime victim to his/her pre-crime state than it is to necessarily exact strict punishment on the criminal. Thus, you would see sentences less having to do with imprisonment and more having to do with restitution to the victim (if possible), possibly monetary, possibly otherwise.

It is a collective look at the damages done as the result of criminal behavior and a way to rectify them. I hope that you can see how this concept would fly in the face of conservative "tough on crime and criminals" approaches to dealing with crime. The greater need of healing a community affected by crime supercedes the innate need for vengence which is the cornerstone of the tough on crime approach. See this link:
http://www.restorativejustice.com/

Answer 2

Marx worked for the London Times, and wrote his manifesto because they would not give him a raise. If he earned a little more, he would not have written it. If he earned a little less, he would have starved to death and would not have been able to write it. Admittedly, the prison system in the US sucks. It is still better than most of the world, but it sucks. All it does is warehouse people without giving them any real alternatives. Then, after they get out, society brands them and turns them into fifth class citizens. Nope, there needs to be something better. This from a conservative.