Prison Fellowship

  • DONATE
    • One-Time
    • Monthly
    • Angel Tree
    • Other Ways to Give
  • GET INVOLVED
    • Volunteer
    • Subscribe
    • Angel Tree Christmas
    • Start a Fundraiser
    • Pray With Us
    • Justice Action Center
    • Share on Social
  • STORIES
    • Stories
    • Blog
    • Videos
    • The Restoration Series [Videos]
  • WHAT WE DO
    • Why Help Prisoners?
    • What We Do
    • In-Prison
      • Prison Fellowship Academy
      • In-Prison Programs
      • Hope Events
      • Inside Journal
      • Women’s Ministry
      • Create: New Beginnings
    • Angel Tree
      • Register your church or group for Angel Tree
      • Prison Fellowship Angel Tree
      • Angel Tree Christmas
      • Angel Tree Camping
      • Angel Tree Sports Camps
    • Justice Reform
      • Justice Reform
      • Second Chance Month
      • Sign the Justice Declaration
      • Get a Copy of Outrageous Justice
    • Warden Exchange
    • Church Partners
    • Corporate Partnerships
    • Preparing Prisoners for Reentry
  • RESOURCES
    • Subscribe to Our Email
    • Support for Friends and Family of Prisoners
      • Resources for Friends and Family of Prisoners
      • Coping with Incarceration
      • Resources for Prisoners
      • Resources for Children of Prisoners
      • Supporting Successful Prisoner Reentry
    • Resources for Churches and Volunteers
      • Resources for Churches and Volunteers
      • In-Prison Ministry
      • Reentry Ministry
      • Family Ministry
      • Justice Reform
      • Mentoring Ministry
    • Resources for Angel Tree Coordinators
    • Resources for Chaplains
    • Resources for D.O.C.
    • Justice Reform Resources
    • Share on Social
    • For Media Outlets
  • ABOUT US
    • Leadership
    • Chuck Colson
      • About Chuck Colson
      • The Charles Colson Hope Awards
    • Our Beliefs
    • Financials
      • Financials
      • 2022 Annual Report
    • Employment
    • Contact Us
    • In The News

Let’s Stop the Sidelining

April 20, 2015 by Elisabeth Boehm

April 19-25 is National Crime Victims’ Rights Week (NCVRW), and Justice Fellowship, the public policy arm of Prison Fellowship, is examining the six values in its restorative justice framework that pertain to victims of crime.

Today, we highlight the restorative justice value of participation.

We understand that crime shatters lives and fractures communities, so the values in our framework work together to prioritize harmed parties, hold responsible parties accountable, and cultivate community engagement in the criminal justice process.

Because each human life has been created by God, we passionately believe that each life holds inherent dignity and value. This is the reason that we must respect the lives of victims. We must recognize the hurt and damage they have suffered, and punish those responsible swiftly and appropriately. We must work to ensure that they have an active role in the criminal justice process.

While there isn’t much argument against the idea that we should respect and support victims in general, there is less consensus on how our communities and criminal justice system do that specifically.

Prison Fellowship believes that first and foremost, victims need to be given proper standing throughout the criminal justice process. This requires a fundamental shift away from the current model used by our justice system. Today, if someone commits a crime, he is taken to court, and more often than not, his trial surrounds the question of whether or not he broke a law. But the primary issue that should be considered is whether or not someone was harmed by his actions.

Placing the emphasis on law has allowed the state to assume the role of the victim, pushing the real victim to the sidelines. Just look at the way most cases are structured. It’s typically in the form of defendant v. United States, or defendant v. State of Kansas, Florida, etc. Just from these titles, we can see that the government often takes on the position of the victim when that position should actually be given to the person or people directly harmed by the crime.

This is unhelpful in maintaining a correct view of crime and the right response to it. The individual who has suffered harm needs to be prioritized and heard. Victims must be given the ability to participate throughout the criminal justice process. The courts should enforce victims’ rights that ensure victims both know about the involvement they can have under the law, and have the opportunity to choose how much they want to exercise that right.

Victim participation includes the ability to offer impact statements, provide input on plea bargains, and give sentencing recommendations. Additionally, victims should be allowed to attend proceedings and meet with the responsible party if desired.

Restorative justice recognizes that most crimes harm individuals―not the government. Without the active participation of the victim, restorative justice fails.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: participation, Restorative Justice, Victims

SELECT A TOPIC

  • Advocacy & Reentry
  • Angel Tree
  • Families of Prisoners
  • Feature Stories
  • From the CEO
  • Hope Events
  • Inside Journal
  • Press Releases
  • Prison & Prisoners
  • Prison Fellowship Academy
  • Prison Fellowship International
  • Prison Fellowship News & Updates
  • Reentry
  • Second Chance Month
  • Uncategorized
  • Video
  • Warden Exchange

MOST POPULAR

Prison Fellowship Responds to Inaction on Crack Cocaine Sentencing at Close of the 117th Congress

December 20, 2022

Criminal Justice Reform Achievements

December 16, 2022

Prison Fellowship Applauds Congressional Lawmakers for Passage of Law Enforcement De-escalation Training Act

December 15, 2022

LATEST VIDEOS

WATCH ALL VIDEOS

JOIN OUR ONLINE COMMUNITY

FACEBOOK
TWITTER
INSTAGRAM
YOUTUBE
LINKEDIN
PF®
PFM®

RECOMMENDED LINKS

  • Ways to Donate
  • Inspirational Stories
  • Angel Tree Program
  • Prison Fellowship Academy
  • Justice Reform

RESOURCES

  • For Families & Friends of Prisoners
  • For Churches & Angel Tree Volunteers
  • For Media Outlets

JOIN RESTORATION PARTNERS AND WITNESS GOD RESTORE LIVES

Restoration Partners give monthly to bring life-changing prison ministry programs to incarcerated men and women across the country.

 

JOIN NOW
  • CONTACT US
  • EMPLOYMENT
  • PRIVACY
  • FINANCIALS
© 2023 PRISON FELLOWSHIP®

Angel Tree®, Angel Tree Camping®, Angel Tree Sports ClinicTM, Angel Tree Sports CampsTM, and Warden Exchange® are programs of Prison Fellowship®.