The Paradox of Forgiveness in Restorative Justice

"Restorative Justice" has emerged internationally as a viable response to the harm caused by crime. Its acceptance and promotion are underscored by the fact that the United Nations has adopted a set of principles that encourage use of restorative justice programming by member states. In addition, the Council of Europe supports its use in criminal matters while the American Bar Association promotes the use of victim offender mediation (VOM), which is the oldest, most widely used and empirically grounded form of restorative justice, in courts throughout the United States. As an alternative to systems that advocate retributive justice, restorative justice seeks to elevate the role of crime victims and community members, hold offenders directly accountable to the people they have violated, and restore the emotional and material losses of victims by providing a range of opportunities for dialogue, negotiation, and problem solving that can lead to a greater sense of community safety, conflict resolution, and healing for all involved (Umbreit, 2001). Most restorative justice practitioners use a humanistic approach to mediation that is dialogue rather than settlement-driven.