Restorative Justice: Redemption Through Personal Responsibility

Abstract

Module 3 reflection Journal: Restorative Programs According to Menkel-Meadow (162), restorative justice is an approach to justice that seeks to repair harm by providing an opportunity for those harmed as well as those willing to take responsibility for the harm to communicate about and address their needs in the aftermath of a crime. It is actually an opportunity that enables communication through meetings between the victim and the offender which at times includes the representative of the wider community as an approach to justice in response to a committed crime. Based on the article, Shaka Senghor gives a narration of embraced responsibility towards the committed crime and the urge to make amend through a thorough self analysis (Walters, 1). Based on this offender, environmental factors shapes character thus the need for a self-reflection to understand how one ends up becoming a criminal and how to get out of such a life through restorative approaches. Based on this offender’s narration, it is open that when people are in punitive rather than empowering environment, bad things happens just like his childhood case which shaped his criminal character. Exploring other criminals’ stories like Malcolm X and reflecting on his leadership role in prison helped Senghor take such influences and turn them round when he decided to reform while still in prison. I agree that Senghor narration expresses a positive restorative justice in that through personal relationships and role models, he managed to pull himself from the place of shame and turned into something positive. However, prisons are not the best when it comes to restorative justice as Senghor expresses a personal initiative to take responsibility of crimes committed and reform for the good of all regardless of the unsupportive approaches within the prison that leaves many offenders into the place of shame. Place of shame are situations or environment that authoritative and punitive approaches take and leave many people. Place of shame as argued by Doctor...