Distinctions
between Restorative
and Retributive Justice
(Based on
Howard Zehr's Model of Comparison of Justice Systems)
|
Retributive Justice |
Restorative Justice |
|
|
Definition of Crime |
Crime is the violation of rules | Crime harms people and relationships |
| State is the victim | Victim is a person | |
| Parties are state/offender | Parties are victim/offender | |
|
Needs and Rights of Participants |
Wrong produces blameworthiness | Wrong produces liability/obligation |
| Focus is on mark of guilt | Focus is on repentance and reparation | |
| Debt owed to society in abstract | Debt owed to victim first | |
| Debt paid by punishment | Debt paid by "making right" | |
|
Outcome |
Centered on fixing blame | Centered on problem-solving |
| Victim's needs and rights secondary | Victims needs and rights essential | |
| Adversarial process | Talk-related process | |
| Victim on periphery of process | Victim active participant in process | |
| Offender has no role in resolution | Offender responsible in resolution | |
| Offender denounced | Harmful act denounced | |
| Assumes win/lose outcome | Promotes win/win outcome | |