This was according to attorney Daniel Van Ness, executive director for the Washington D.C.-based Prison Fellowship International’s Center for Justice and Reconciliation.
“Restorative justice is an approach to crime which puts its emphasis on the harms that come from the crime. It focuses on the harm done to the victims and the offenders,” Ness said in an interview.
He added that restorative justice is much more effective than what the usual criminal justice system is doing by putting an offender under probation
“The system is good and often better. Prison is a scarce and expensive commodity, and you can reduce the number of offenders being sent to prison,” Ness said.
He added that restorative justice also reduces the number of victims suffering from post-traumatic stress and will lower, if not eliminate their desire for revenge.
Ness said the justice system should not only focus on the offense and punishment done by offenders but hold them accountable for repairing the harm they have done.
“What usually happens in our justice system is that the harm is not addressed and the offenders are punished, adding to the population of the jails,” he said.
Ness, however, added that restorative justice has its limitations.
“If the conditions are right, it is very effective. It can be done in minor cases but not in serious cases like manslaughter, burglary, and others. It cannot also be used in cases where the offender is very dangerous or where mental illness is an issue. It has to be done with somebody competent to engage in a conversation, and the offender should be willing to admit his deed,” Ness added.
Restorative justice is an age-old tradition that has been used by people, he added.
“If you look at it in another way, restorative justice is a way of preserving the island’s traditions,” he said. “It is a modern form of working things out and doing it on a voluntary basis.”
The two-day restorative justice conference held at the Saipan Grand Hotel ended yesterday.
It was the first of its kind held in Micronesia and was attended by over 40 participants from Guam, the CNMI, Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia.
