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Full-Text Articles in Law
Using Criminal Punishment To Serve Both Victim And Social Needs, Erin Ann O'Hara, Maria Mayo Robbins
Using Criminal Punishment To Serve Both Victim And Social Needs, Erin Ann O'Hara, Maria Mayo Robbins
Law and Contemporary Problems
In recent decades, the criminal-justice pendulum has swung to the opposite extreme. Criminal law is often described as covering disputes between the offender and the state. Victims are not direct parties to criminal proceedings, they have no formal right to either initiate or terminate a criminal action, and they have no control over the punishment meted out to offenders. In this state-centric system, victim needs have been left unsatisfied, giving rise to a politically powerful victims' rights movement that has had success in giving victims rights of access to prosecutors and rights to be heard in the courtroom. Here, O'Hara …
Legitimacy And Effectiveness Of A Grassroots Truth And Reconciliation Commission, Jill E. Williams
Legitimacy And Effectiveness Of A Grassroots Truth And Reconciliation Commission, Jill E. Williams
Law and Contemporary Problems
Williams describes the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) process that was put into place in Greensboro NC. That process was set up to address community hostilities that had been festering for more than twenty years, since the 1979 killings of black protesters by Ku Klux Klansmen and American Nazis. In that case a grassroots-initiated TRC was formed to address the community problems, but it was not backed by the local government and it lacked the ability to grant amnesty or to subpoena witnesses. Community members had very different views regarding the necessity and likely helpfulness of the TRC. She concludes …
Examining The Applicability Of The Concepts Of Apology, Forgiveness, And Reconciliation To Multi-Stakeholder, Collaborative Problem-Solving Processes, Jennifer Pratt Miles
Examining The Applicability Of The Concepts Of Apology, Forgiveness, And Reconciliation To Multi-Stakeholder, Collaborative Problem-Solving Processes, Jennifer Pratt Miles
Law and Contemporary Problems
In 2004, Meridian Institute, an organization with expertise in designing, facilitating, and mediating collaborative problem-solving processes, was asked to assess the feasibility of forming collaborative, community-based-watershed groups in northern New Mexico to develop plans to address water-quality problems and--if determined to be feasible--to facilitate the formation of those groups and plans. Early in the assessment process it became clear that the historical context was critically important and was one of the factors that had to be addressed. Here, Miles explores the applicability of apology, forgiveness, and reconciliation to a collaborative group process that can be examined through the example of …
Polarization: The Role Of Emotions In Reconciliation Efforts, Meghan Clarke
Polarization: The Role Of Emotions In Reconciliation Efforts, Meghan Clarke
Law and Contemporary Problems
Clarke points out some strategies that have been used in the Collaborative Change Approach to group-conflict resolution that are designed to help depolarize the competing sides' stances toward one another. In order to try to break down the hostility between the groups, Clarke brings together each identity or stakeholder group in order to share with one another why each group cares passionately about the issue. Clarke provides the example of a groundfishery conflict that involved recreational fishermen, commercial fishermen, environmentalists, researchers, and government officials. The interests of each of these groups conflicted, but no group had morally problematic motivations or …