Justice for Crime Through Accountability

In his book "The Little Book of Restorative Justice", Howard Zehr defines restorative justice as "an approach that involves, 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"

While restorative justice practices do not ignore the judicial consequences of criminal behavior, one of its focuses is on the accountability processes that help each offender understand and take responsibility for the harms he caused.

For the criminal justice system, and the majority of prisoners for that matter, accountability for one's crimes ends in a prison sentence and perhaps some court managed restitution. Society has been duped into believing that this is justice.

Accepting responsibility and accountability for one's crimes goes beyond pleading guilty though. Among other things, it also means focusing on correcting the thinking errors that led the offender to commit his crimes.

For many victims a prison sentence for their offender does little if anything to heal the emotional and psychological harms caused to the victim. For some victims a mediated dialogue between the offender and victim may be beneficial in reducing the victim's fear and anxiety, and it may begin to heal the wounds the offender caused. For other victims, mediated dialogue with their offender may cause more harm than good, but it may be helpful for the victim to know what specifically the offender is doing to hold himself accountable for his behavior. Some victims may even want a voice in this process.

When an offender cannot specifically contribute to helping heal his own victim he can work to help heal those in the category of his offense. I have seen offenders donate hobbycraft items that took hundreds of hours to domestic violence shelters or crisis pregnancy centers. I have also seen offenders with histories of youthful drug abuse work with at risk youth centers to provide literature and personal testimonies to help curb drug abuse in young people.

These are simple examples, but they are an important part of the process of healing for offenders. True restorative justice would involve the victims of crime in this process and contribute to healing for the victims as well.

Until the justice system sees the value of restorative justice practices, offenders must continue to put accountability into practice the best way they know how. Victims who wish to have a voice in the process of what accountability means to their offender can work with a mediation service (who normally provides the service for free) to discover the offender's level of commitment to holding himself accountable and to communicate their wishes to the offender.

Ultimately, whether or not the victim is ever engaged in the process, each offender can begin to heal his harms by holding himself accountable, not by simply doing his time.

What do you think accountability should involve for the offender? (Please provide feedback in your comments.)