Restorative Justice in Prison

Session Submission Type: Complete Thematic Panel

Abstract

Restorative justice (RJ) is an alternative way for doing justice after a crime that is primarily oriented towards repairing the individual, relational, and social harm caused by an offence. Some restorative justice initiatives are taken place in prisons in Europe and North- and South America. The presentations in this thematic panel focus on two distinctive developments on RJ in prison. First, the capacity of restorative justice interventions in prison to impact positively on offenders’ likelihood of stopping committing criminal offenses (desistance from crime) opens new perspectives for these practices for prisons and resettlement regimes. Second, the role RJ may play in affecting extreme violence within and outside the prison and how RJ may be incorporated into the prison disciplinary system.

Sub Unit

• Area VII: Criminal Justice Policy and Practice / 38: Corrections

Individual Presentations

• How Restorative Justice Practices in Prison Can Promote Desistance from Crime: Or Does It? - Bart Claes, University of Sheffield (UK)

• Why Reentry-Based Restorative Justice Signals Desistance: Further Evidence from a Randomized Trial - Derrick Franke, Michigan State University; Roger Jarjoura, American Institutes for Research

• The Role of Restorative Justice in One of Brazil's Worst Prisons - Maristela Carrara, CCJC Canada; Jordan Nowotny, Fairleigh Dickinson University

• Prison Disciplinary Processes and Restorative Justice – An Opportunity to Challenge Coercive Communication Patterns? - Michelle Butler, Queens University Belfast

Chair

• Joanna Shapland, University of Sheffield, UK

Discussant

• Joanna Shapland, University of Sheffield, UK