Abstract
Restorative justice, aimed at restoring human relations instead of just punishing offenders, is often defended with reference to biblical values like reconciliation, for giveness, and mercy. Advocates of retributivism, which is the philosophy that under lies the practice of punishing perpetrators with the sole goal of inflicting hardship on them, regularly ridicule such defenses. In response we will not directly defend restor ative justice, but critically inquire in the main theoretical arguments with which advo cates of retributivism seek to rationalize their view. We point out the weaknesses of these arguments and why we believe that restorative procedures can do much better in serving the goals of (criminal) justice.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 401-425 |
Number of pages | 25 |
Journal | International Journal of Public Theology |
Volume | 15 |
Issue number | 3 |
Early online date | 27 Oct 2021 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Oct 2021 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© van Willigenburg and Van der Bor ght, 2021.
Keywords
- Forgiveness
- Justification of punishment
- Mercy
- Restorative justice
- Retributivism