Restorative Justice and Prison Reform

Abstract

This chapter explores a possible path to justice and prison reform, a path that is consistent with a culture of peace. It presents restorative justice as a philosophy that offers a set of questions, values, and assumptions that guide the creation of environments for those who commit violence. After a presentation of the general approach and practices of restorative justice, the concept of 'restorative space' is offered as a framework through which to promote accountability and personal transformation among offenders without inflicting the individual and social harms of current prisons. The chapter concludes with a discussion of how restorative space and cultures of peace are interdependent and how restorative justice informs peace-building efforts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)