The Justice System

1. The purpose of a justice system is to balance the disproportion of power that occurs after a crime. When a crime is committed, the perpetrator gains power by taking the victim’s sense of security. This system would need to combine retributive justice and restorative justice in order to satisfy all those involved in the crime. For example, after the crime, the perpetrator will need to be punished in a fair way and be taught why his or her action was wrong. The victim will need closure and a way to ease back into day-to-day life after his or her ordeal.

2. The current criminal justice system in Canada is retributive. This means that punishment, such as a jail sentence, is the preferred use of taking power away from the perpetrator. The major critique of this system is that the victim is never involved in the process. This is a problem because the victim is never able to talk of the emotions caused by the crime. By suppressing these emotions, the victim is never able to have closure or forgive the perpetrator. Not giving forgiveness is also a problem for the perpetrator who might feel guilt over what he or she has done and not be able to express this guilt to the victim.

3. Restorative justice processes try to give closure to the victim and perpetrator. These processes also attempt to make the two parties give forgiveness for the crime committed. It does this by sitting the victim and perpetrator down face-to-face with a mediator to hash out the issues. However, this kind of setting would only work if the perpetrator felt remorse for the crime he or she committed. For example, mediation would not work for a premeditated murder case because the murderer intended to kill the victim.

4. Truth and reconciliation commissions are form...

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... exist again, which is one thing that this Commission succeeded in accomplishing.

Works Cited

Henri, Yazir. “Reconciling Reconciliation: A Personal and Public Journey of Testifying before the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission.” Political Transition: Politics and Cultures. Ed. Paul Gready. Virginia: Pluto Press, 2003. 262-275. Print.

Pellett, Gail. “Facing the Truth with Bill Moyers”. Films on Demand. Ed. Vanessa Procopio. 1999. University of Ottawa. Accessed on January 21, 2014. Web.

Tutu, Desmond. Foreword by Chairperson. Truth and Reconciliation of South Africa Report. Vol. 1. By Desmond Tutu, Alex Boraine, Mary Burton, Bongani Finca, Sisi Khampepe, Richard Lyster, Wynand Malan, Kjoza Mgojo, Hlengiwe, Mkhize, Dumisa Ntsebasza, Wendy Orr, Denzil Potgieter, Fazel Randera, Yasmin Sooka, and Glenda Wildcshut. South Africa: n. p., 1998. 1-23. Print.