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Crime and justice: Policy solutions

Through the work of individuals, congregations and victim-offender reconciliation programs (VORPs), Mennonites are associated with the work of restorative justice. Broadly speaking, restorative justice views wrongdoing as a harm done by a person, or a group of people, to another and seeks to address the needs of both victim and offender. On the other hand, retributive justice – the “standard” criminal justice system in the United States and most of the world – views wrongdoing as a crime committed by a person or people against the state and seeks to deal out varying levels of punishment.

The United States’ model of retributive justice stands in stark contrast to the Biblical suggestions for restoring relationships after conflict. In Matthew 18, Jesus commands Christians to resolve grievances through direct, individual (then group, if necessary) confrontation, in order to restore the relationship that has been damaged. Paul goes so far as to say that resorting to lawsuits against fellow believers constitutes defeat, indicating disinterest in the bonds of relationship.

MCC has been at the forefront of the restorative justice movement, which seeks to apply the principle goal of “right relationships” to the modern response to crime and wrongdoing. Restorative justice seeks to resolve conflict in ways that emphasize healing both victims and offenders of crime while repairing personal and community relationships.

The MCC Washington Office advocates for individuals and communities affected by the criminal justice system, gun violence and torture, by working for policy changes that:

  1. Address the current weaknesses of the criminal justice system, including counterproductive levels of incarceration, racial disparities in convictions and sentencing, lack of treatment of the mentally ill and inadequate rehabilitation programs.
     
  2. Maintain and strengthen the juvenile justice system, which recognizes the inherent developmental differences between juvenile delinquents and adult offenders. Prevent juveniles from being placed in adult facilities, where they are often abused and trained in further criminal and gang behavior.
     
  3. Fund prisoner reentry programs to reduce recidivism by providing work and life skill training to former inmates and assisting in their transition back to the outside world.
     
  4. Reduce the jurisdiction limits on Tribal courts, which has increased lawlessness on Native land by allowing non-Indians to commit many crimes – including assault and rape – with near impunity, and is an affront to Tribal sovereignty.
     

Photo credit: stevec77/Flickr