There is a saying: "if it bleeds, it leads". I am not sure who first spoke these words, but it seems to be true. Our media saturates us with painful, ugly details about people's misfortunes. Lives that are dumped into our criminal justice system. For many people, the cure can be as bad as the disease.
Our system is designed on the idea that the victim and the offender are removed from the process of dealing with a problem. Instead, two lawyers battle wits in front of a judge. To be fair, the system has been responsive to the needs of victims. And there are greater efforts to help offenders change their behavoiour. However many believe the current system has a long way to go.
Restorative justice is an alternative model of doing things differently. The work of Dr. Caroline M. Angel is a good example of this work in action. These efforts are hopeful.
MRJN
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