After the Crime: The Power of Restorative Justice Dialogues between Victims and Violent Offenders

by Susan L. Miller

Overview

2012 Winner of the Outstanding Book Award presented by the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences


Outstanding Academic Title from 2011 by Choice Magazine

Too often, the criminal justice system silences victims, which leaves them frustrated, angry, and with many unanswered questions. Despite their rage and pain, many victims want the opportunity to confront their offenders and find resolution. After the Crime explores a victim-offender dialogue program that offers victims of severe violence an opportunity to meet face-to-face with their incarcerated offenders. Using rich in-depth interview data, the book follows the harrowing stories of crimes of stranger rape, domestic violence, marital rape, incest, child sexual abuse, murder, and drunk driving, ultimately moving beyond story-telling to provide an accessible scholarly analysis of restorative justice.

Susan Miller argues that the program has significantly helped the victims who chose to face their offenders in very concrete, transformative ways. Likewise, the offenders have also experienced positive changes in their lives in terms of creating greater accountability and greater victim empathy. After the Crime explores their transformative experiences with restorative justice, vividly illustrating how one program has worked in conjunction with the criminal justice system in order to strengthen victim empowerment.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780814795521
Publisher:	New York University Press
Publication date:	04/04/2011
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Susan L. Miller is Professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice at the University of Delaware. She is the author of Victims as Offenders: Women’s Use of Violence in Relationships.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Part I: Foundations
1 Introduction
2 Tossing Turkeys and Other Stories: What Do They Say about Crime and Punishment?
3 Getting Personal: The Power of Storytelling
Part II: Victim and Offender Stories
4 Donna and Jamel: Living in Different Prisons
5 Allison and James: From Horror to Gratitude
6 Laurie and Paul: Emerging from a Cocoon
7 Melissa and Steven: Losing Innocence
8 Scott and Bruce: Thou Shalt Not
9 Leigh and Jenny: Lives Interrupted
10 Julie and Kevin: In Memoriam
11 Kathleen and Wayne: A Mother’s Love
12 Chris and Brett: Misguided Chivalry
Part III: Analysis
13 The Importance of Storytelling for Restorative Justice
14 Conclusion
Appendix A: Restorative Justice: Theoretical and Empirical Studies
Appendix B: Methodology
Appendix C: Victims’ Voices Heard Program Structure
Notes
Index
About the Author

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"A must read for all interested in nonviolent approaches to achieving justice." -CHOICE

Editorial Reviews

"A must read for all interested in nonviolent approaches to achieving justice." -CHOICE

From the Publisher

"A must read for all interested in nonviolent approaches to achieving justice."

CHOICE