Essay On Victim Offender Mediation

Essay On Victim Offender Mediation

Out of the three programs in restorative justice, victim– offender mediation is one of the first programs to be introduced towards making amends in restorative justice. The victim– offender mediation process according to Ness and Strong (2015), originated in Canada in 1974, as two inebriated young men who were in their teens, pleaded guilty to destroying the property of twenty–two people. In the preparation of the judge's report, a probation officer, by the name of Mark Yantzi and a volunteer of the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Dave Worth, came into a mutual agreement that neither prison nor probation would have the positive effects of justice as having the offenders meet their victims' face–to face and hear the impact their crime caused. They are given the chance to apologize for wrongdoings, and pay back their restitutions. Though the deciding judge was hesitant at first to accept the proposal, he eventually went forward with the conditions, which led to the continued use of the process due to its positive results in holding offender accountability that regular punishment failed to provide. The process overall helped offenders understand the harm they inflicted towards their victims, and required them to pay off their debts in a responsible manner (Ness & Strong, pg. 27).

The process later continued to gain awareness throughout ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...In fact, each element has a probable effect in helping a victim heal and an offender progress back into a community ("Amends," 2015). The victim– offender mediation process includes all four; apology can be present in the mediation process as the offender acknowledges his or her actions; the behavior change can follow as offenders agree to change their environment to satisfy an agreement; restitution is overall made towards the end of the

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