Justice

Restorative justice is the more formal name for social justice which is a more empathetic and comprehensive approach to addressing criminal behavior when compared with the traditional justice model. While this is an admirable objective, it runs into problems when it is instituted. Over time it has tended to care more for the criminal than the victim. In my youth I was a champion of social justice. When someone was convicted of a crime, I would look into their background and explain their behavior in a manner which made them seem like victims. John was convicted of beating his wife with a club. This would be a felony and could result in jail time. John grew up in a family where his father routinely beat up on his mother. His father was a alcoholic and he murdered his mother when John was ten years old. John witnessed the murder and testified in court. By the time I finished my story people forgot about John's wife and started feeling sorry for John. Today this type of thinking has become common place and criminals are let off with misdemeanors when they should be charge with felonies. The balance between justice and mercy has shifted toward mercy. The idea of personal responsibility has been tempered by a persons past experiences. At one time I got so good at this that I finally arrived at the point where no one was responsible for criminal activity.