Justice and its Flaws

 

Throughout Elizabeth Spelman’s Repair, we have been introduced to several forms of repair and how they are evident in our lives. In Chapter 4 specifically, Spelman writes relates repair to our criminal justice system and its affect(s) on the social fabric of life. The two forms of punishment that she mentions are that of retributive and restorative justice. Retributive justice refers to the form of punishment associated with the extraction or removal of a criminal from the community in which they committed a felony or broke a law. Under Retributive justice, the criminal is typically incarcerated or subject to some form of solitary confinement. On the other hand, the less popular form of justice (restorative) is concerned with fixing more profound things such as the internal damage suffered by members of a community that were impacted by a crime or criminal.

 

Retributive justice is the most commonly used form of punishment by law enforcers, but does this mean that it is properly justified or correct? Is there a more effective alternative to retributive justice that both protects a community from the potential dangers of a criminal and restores the social fabric back to a functioning and normal state? The answer to these questions, in my opinion, lies in the principles and aspects of restorative justice. Spelman writes in Chapter 4, “…the law focuses on those harms only to the extent necessary to establish the guilt the offender and the appropriate level of punishment to be meted.” My interpretation of this quote is that the law does not holistically fix or heal the feelings or emotions of the victims of a crime. Imprisonment may not always heal or correct a law breaker as well. In fact, imprisonment may intensify or worsen a situation. In the movie Shawshank Redemption, the extent to which the negative effects imprisonment could potentially have on a criminal are accurately depicted. The movie focuses on men that have been imprisoned for breaking various laws and as a result were sent to a prison camp, Shawshank. At this camp, men from all walks of life are mixed together and forced to self-correct themselves as punishment. One character in particular, Brooks, was imprisoned in Shawshank for nearly 49 years and was released under the discretion of the prison guards. After Brooks was released, he wasn’t sure how to cope with reality mentally because society had evolved so much. Things like automobiles that were just becoming popular before he was sent away to prison were used in everyday life by the time he was released. New styles of fashion and rapid urbanism had made its way into Brook’s town.

 

Afraid, confused, and angry, Brooks did not know how to properly deal with this seemingly new world that he had been released into. In order to deal with these mixed emotions that resulted from this culture shock, Brooks hung himself. Although Shawshank Redemption may be a fictional story, I feel that some facets of the effects of imprisonment are accurately portrayed. One who is sent away to prison is forced to resolve an internal problem, a problem that may require professional attention or care. Prison also prevents one from evolving with and contributing to society to a degree. The proposed solution, as Spelman points out, to these problems is that of reparative justice. This form of justice involves allowing a said criminal to interact with those that were directly or indirectly affected by his/her wrongdoing, the opposite of retributive justice. Restorative justice allows one to reflect upon one’s actions and how they have affected others. This form of justice provides closure to both the victim and oppressor of a crime. Restorative justice aims to both improve the behavior of an oppressor while at the same time repairs the internal damage faced by victims of a crime and restores the social fabric of a community to an orderly state.