Punishment Not Answer For Crime, CMU Professor Says

Paul Redekop’s New Book Aims To Take Restorative Justice To Next Level

By Aaron Epp

When Jeff graduated from high school, he decided to go for a joyride in his car on the schoolyard, causing thousands of dollars in damage to the freshly laid sod in the process. But instead of just allowing the charges to proceed in court, the school sent a representative to meet with Jeff and a mediator. Together, the three worked out an agreement whereby Jeff paid for the damaged sod by working for the school division.

In the end, Jeff was able to get a reference from the school division for future work-an invaluable asset for a recent high school grad.

Jeff’s story is one of the case studies featured in Paul Redekop’s new book, Changing Paradigms: Punishment and Restorative Discipline, which aims to show that punishment is not the answer to crime.

“There is no moral justification for punishment,” says Redekop, who teaches conflict resolution at Menno Simons College, CMU’s campus at the University of Winnipeg.

Redekop views his book as a follow-up to Howard Zehr’s seminal 1990 book Changing Lenses: A New Focus for Crime and Justice.

Zehr’s book was a “breakthrough, because it defined restorative justice,” says Redekop, noting that Zehr, a professor at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, VA, showed how principles of civil law can be integrated into the criminal justice system.

For Redekop, Changing Paradigms is an attempt to take Zehr’s ideas “to the next level, so it’s not just a criminal justice thing, but a way of life.” In it he makes the case for the abolition of punishment altogether, replacing it with principles of restorative justice and discipline in all aspects of life, from families, to schools and to international crimes against humanity.

In the book, Redekop counters the two traditional reasons for punishment: Retribution and deterrence.

The problem with the retribution, Redekop says, is that the benefits of communicating moral disapproval depend on a situation where the person being punished agrees completely with the values of the punisher, and fully understand the rightness of the punishment. This level of agreement rarely happens and, when it does, punishment is rarely necessary.

The problem with the deterrence, he adds, is that punishment doesn’t act as a deterrent. Citing studies that show that the longer someone is in prison, the more likely that person to re-offend once released, Redekop says that it makes things worse.

But that’s not the only problem with punishment, he notes. It also doesn’t allow for communication between the victim and the offender.

“We have every right to express our disapproval of wrong acts, but when we punish, we undermine the message,” he explains, pointing out that the way the criminal justice system is set up now doesn’t allow for contact between the victim and offender.

“It’s an exercise in futility, because punishment breeds only anger and resentment on the part of the person being punished.”

A restorative justice response holds the wrongdoer accountable, and has him or her restore the harm that has been done, he says, adding that can mean anything from compensating the person they’ve wronged in some way, or sincerely apologizing to the person and reassuring them that it won’t happen again.

This can happen through mediation, where the victim and the offender meet with a third party, he notes. Mediation gives the victim the opportunity to let the offender know how the wrong affected them, and gives the offender the motivation to make things right.

Other methods of restorative justice include community conferencing, where victim and offender meet with a circle of people to support them. In this scenario, everyone has a chance to share how the wrong affected them, learn from what happened and find ways for the offender to compensate the victim in whatever fashion is deemed appropriate.

“People are upset about crime, so they want more punishment,” Redekop says. “But that is only because they don’t know that there are alternatives. Punishment is the only option that’s been available. They don’t know there’s a whole other way of dealing with these conflicts that actually can work.”

Changing Paradigms: Punishment and Restorative Discipline is published by Herald Press. It is available from Mennonite Publishing Network at www.mpn.net/

Posted June 27, 2008

For more information contact CMU Communications Director, 500 Shaftesbury Blvd., Winnipeg, Manitoba R3P 2N2, telephone: 204-487-3300 ext. 630, fax: 204-889-1694, (www.cmu.ca)