Evers, Tag. "A Healing Approach to Crime." Progressive Sept. 1998: 30-33. SIRS Researcher. Web. 11 April 2010.
What drew me to this article was mainly the title. I looked at the title and decided that it was a good way to put rehabilitation simply; rehabilitation is, essentially, a healing approach to crime. Though not all crimes constitute capital punishment, criminals are human too. Humans can be rehabilitated. A statement that particularly stood out was that "in restorative justice theory, crime is defined as a violation of human relationships...making things right, rather than simply punishing the offenders, is the goal" (Evers). This all ties back with the punishment and rehabilitation working hand in hand. Another good point I found was that in one specific case of a robbery, the victim, like many others, felt left out of the criminal justice process. Because the victim got to meet with the offenders, he felt that it helped his family recover. "The offender is not the enemy...but they are also people who need help. We cannot turn our backs on these people if we ever hope to actually reduce the amount of crime occuring in our communities" (Evers). This is also true. Rehabilitation may be starting to have effect on smaller crimes now, but if reinforced and supported by the whole nation, who knows what wonders could happen?
I really like what you said about this article. I'm typically not one to support rehab, because I don't think it works that well, but this definitely makes me think twice. I liked the quotes you used from this article, and definitely think you should incorporate it into your paper somehow.
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