Violent Offender Reconciliation Programs

Violent offender reconciliation programs originate from the restorative justice paradigm and are designed to assist victims of such crimes as murder, armed robbery, homicide, vehicular homicide, and sexual assault. The American criminal justice system is rooted in adversarial interactions, retribution, and the due process rights of criminal defendants. Victims of violent crime may have little or no control over judicial proceedings concerning the crimes perpetrated against them. Rather, the state maintains the power position in the criminal justice system. More precisely, a violent crime is viewed as a violation against the state, and punitive measures are used to address this violation. In contrast, restorative justice makes the victim a priority and is community-centered. Moreover, restorative justice is contingent upon an understanding and appreciation of both shared interests and shared relations. Since the 1970s, victim advocate groups have struggled to meet the needs and protect the rights of victims. Generally, violent offender reconciliation programs are not used in place of the criminal justice system. Rather, these programs are used along with the criminal justice system to directly address and acknowledge the interests of victims. Since the rights of a criminal defendant are of paramount concern in the U.S. judicial system, victims of violent crime often feel ignored, disempowered, and even revictimized by the criminal justice system.

Originally, the vast majority of victim-offender mediation programs primarily accepted cases involving minor assaults and property crimes. However, the success of victim-offender mediation in dealing with nonviolent crimes, as well as growing dissatisfaction with the treatment and role of victims in the criminal justice system, has led to the use of violent offender reconciliation programs. Ideally, as a result of the reconciliation, violent offenders are made aware of and gain an appreciation for the consequences of their actions. Specifically, violent offender reconciliation programs allow offenders to conceptualize the impact of their actions from the intimate perspective of their victims' suffering. Moreover, the process [Page 446]provides victims with the opportunity to comprehend their offenders, as well as the factors that might have served as a catalyst for the offender's violent act.

In most instances, violent offender reconciliations are started with a request from the victim. The offender's participation is voluntary, and either party may terminate the process at any time. Generally, prior to the reconciliation, the offender has admitted his or her guilt. Hence, these programs aspire to foster constructive dialogue between the victim and the offender. During the process, the victim may gain validation via an apology, or the offender may gain forgiveness. An in-depth screening process, which may take up to a year or more, is utilized to confirm that a case is appropriate for a violent offender reconciliation program. The objective of the screening process is to maintain the safety of all parties involved, as well as the integrity of the reconciliation. Additionally, prior to the reconciliation, the mediator meets with each party individually to address questions and concerns. Often in violent offender reconciliation programs, this stage is vital in establishing the parameters of the reconciliation, including particular topics to be discussed. Additionally, this stage is important in addressing and accessing expectations of both parties participating in the reconciliation.

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