Full Description
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.
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 ChivalryPart 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
