Restorative Justice Quotes

That was the thing about restorative justice. It allowed you to hold two things in your head at the same time--that butt-slapping was funny, and also that it wasn't. That asking permission to touch somebody was funny, but that you really didn't want to be touched by somebody who didn't ask. That the girls wanted Jeff to dial back the ass-smacking thing, but that they still liked joking around with him. That the whole thing wasn't a big deal, and that it kind of was (239). ~ Dashka Slater

If our social justice is guided by retribution, we will simply perpetuate the use and abuse of power to inflict violence. ~ Jamie Arpin-Ricci

Since sin is the multifaced distortion of humans in their relations with God, self, others, and the world, and since cracked Eikons create systemic injustice, inherent to the atoning work of God os restorative justice. God's redemptive intent is to restore and rehabilitate humans in their relationship with God, self, others, and the world, and when that happens justice is present and established. The followers of Jesus both proclaim and embody atoning justice by fighting injustice and establishing just that kind of justice. Their forward guard is surrounded with the banner of grace and forgiveness. ~ Scot McKnight

The cycle of reprisal and counter reprisal that had characterized their national history had to be broken and that the only way to do this was to go beyond retributive justice to restorative justice, to move on to forgiveness, because without it there was no future. ~ Desmond Tutu

Restorative justice is more interested in relationships. A crime is not act against a rule, it's an act against a person. When you harm somebody, you owe it to them to make things right. By making things right, you begin to heal your relationship with the community. Our system is focused on blame and punishment and not on healing and learning. - Lauren Abramson (RJ Program in Baltimore, MD) ~ Dashka Slater

It is entirely possible to work for justice without thirsting for blood. ~ Jamie Arpin-Ricci

Our current criminal justice system has no provision for restorative justice, in which an offender confronts the damage they have done and tries to make it right for the people they have harmed. Instead, our system of "corrections" is about arm's-length revenge and retribution, all day and all night. ~ Piper Kerman

Restorative justice is not a replacement of retributive justice, but a complement. It seeks the rehabilitation of the wrongdoer and the repair of the victim's injury. ~ Lewis B. Smedes

We have to undo the millions of little white lies that America told itself and the world aboutthe American Black man. ~ John Oliver Killens

Our children will work in energy tomorrow - they just won't work in fossil fuels, in the meantime, for social justice, economic justice and stability, we need ... negotiated, planned outcomes that people can touch at both the national and industry and enterprise level. ~ Sharan Burrow

I have been brought up in a world dominated by honor. I have known neither crime, poverty, nor betrayal, and here I taste hatred for the first time: it is sublime, like a thirst for justice and revenge.
-the girl who played go ~ Shan Sa

I am not the law, but I represent justice so far as my feeble powers go. ~ Arthur Conan Doyle

Christian political theory does not adhere to a passive conservatism. nor is it enamored of progress. It is conservative in principles, but progressive in application of these principles to the ever-changing circumstances. In the struggle between the passionate urge for limitless freedom and conservative order, Christian political theory stands on the side of order. In the struggle between man's longing for freedom and dehumanizing absolute power, it will fight for freedom. In the struggle between social justice and reactionary defense of the vested interests of selfish classes, it will unite with justice. Faced by the choice between the dignity of the human person and political expediency, it will defend the dignity of the human person. ~ Heinrich A Rommen

The great victory of April 30 represents the triumph of the entire nation, of justice over brutality and of humanity over tyranny. ~ Ho Chi Minh

Pity the nation that has to silence its writers for speaking their minds. ~ Arundhati Roy

Americanism means the virtues of courage, honor, justice, truth, sincerity, and hardihood - the virtues that made America. ~ Theodore Roosevelt

Humanity and justice are the principles on which to govern a state, but not an army; opportunism and flexibility, on the other hand, are military rather than civic virtues. ~ Sun Tzu

I will not speak of him as if he were absent, he has not been and he will never be. These are not mere words of consolation. Only those of us who feel it truly and permanently in the depths of our souls can comprehend this. Physical life is ephemeral, it passes inexorably ... This truth should be taught to every human being
that the immortal values of the spirit are above physical life. What sense does life have without these values? What then is it to live? Those who understand this and generously sacrifice their physical life for the sake of good and justice
how can they die? God is the supreme idea of goodness and justice. ~ Fidel Castro

Prayer that works is prayer that makes a difference, contemplation that turns into action, on behalf of peace and justice in a troubled and unjust world system. Prayer is energy, the energy of love and transformative power. It is given to us to use for the good of all creation. In prayer God gives us the fuel of life, and asks us to live it. ~ Margaret Silf

When men and women are loyal to ourselves and others, when we love justice, we understand fully the myriad ways in which lying diminishes and erodes the possibility of meaningful, caring connection, that it stands in the way of love. ~ Bell Hooks

I wanted to show, as Tooly's life enfolds [in The Rise & Fall of Great Powers], how one's earliest stories condition how one encounters the world: what one expects of strangers, whether one counts on justice, whether one veers into cynicism or veers back again. ~ Tom Rachman

Those who become incoculated with the virus of race hatred are more unfortunate than the victim of it. Race hatred is the most malignant poison that can afflict the mind. It freezes up the fount of inspiration and chills the higher faculties of the soul. ~ Kelly Miller

I'd carry you," he added, "but I'd have to get you declawed first."
"Don't count on it," I replied.
Sage did an exaggerated stretch. "In the meantime, I think we should all get some sleep." He sprawled out across the dirt floor. "Good night."
He shut his eyes and was perfectly still. There was no chance he was asleep already, but Ben spoke his mind anyway. He pulled me aside just the slightest bit and sneered down at Sage.
"I don't like any of this, Clea."
"Really? Because when he started talking about the Elixir of Life, I thought the two of you were ready to become blood brothers."
"I believe in the Elixir," Ben said. "Enough that I want to believe Sage's story. I just don't now if we can. And we still can't explain the pictures. I don't trust him."
"I don't care, Ben. Dad trusted him. And Sages plan is my best shot at finding him alive."
"I guess. Just..." Ben took a moment to put together his next words. "Be careful around him, okay? I feel like..."
I waited, but he wasn't going to finish. "Feel like what?"
"Nothing. I'm here for you. You know that, right?"
I could see him struggling. It was like he was trying to tell me something monumental, but the words that came out weren't doing it justice.
He sprawled out on the cave floor as far away from Sage as he could, and patted his chest. "Need a pillow? It's not really in my job description, but I'm happy to offer." He pinched a corner of his shirt between two finge ~ Hilary Duff

The same tools we need to use to keep this country safe by bringing terrorists to justice, because I guarantee you, if they have the opportunity and the means, they will take American lives. ~ Todd Tiahrt

Like all weak men he laid an exaggerated stress on not changing one's mind. ~ W. Somerset Maugham

Let the force of arms give place to law and justice. ~ Marcus Tullius Cicero

We are not engaged in domestic politics, in church building or in social uplift work, but we are engaged in nation building. ~ Marcus Garvey

Are you the sum total of your worst acts? ~ Bryan Stevenson

Freedom to publish means freedom for all and not for some. Freedom to publish is guaranteed by the constitution but freedom to continue to prevent others from publishing is not. ~ Hugo Black

I build no system. I ask an end to privilege, the abolition of slavery, equality of rights, and the reign of law. Justice, nothing else; that is the alpha and omega of my argument: to others I leave the business of governing the world. ~ Pierre-Joseph Proudhon

It may not be pretty, but sometimes justice has to be hard to keep the rest of us straight and safe. ~ Intisar Khanani

Crime is a violation of people and relationships. It creates obligations to make things right. Justice involves the victim, the offender and the community in a search for solutions which promote repair, reconciliation and reassurance ~ Howard Zehr

But even when the principle of equal treatment was betrayed, American leaders in every era have emphatically affirmed it, not so much out of hypocrisy as out of aspiration. Indeed, for those who were devoted to justice, the persistence of inequality was precisely what made equality before the law so imperative. ~ Glenn Greenwald

Inside each of us resides the truth, the absolute truth. But sometimes the truth is hidden in a hall of mirrors. Sometimes we believe we are viewing the read thing, when in fact we are viewing a facsimile, a distortion ... We too, must shatter the mirrors. We must look into ourselves and root out the distortions until that thing which we know in our hearts is perfect and true, stands before us. Only then will justice be served. ~ Garth Stein

Jesus doesn't just want songs. He wants justice for the people on planet Earth. ~ Louie Giglio

It is the spirit and not the form of law that keeps justice alive. ~ Earl Warren

The New Deal was going to redistribute the national income according to ideals of social and economic justice. ~ Garet Garrett

God is always the upholder of justice. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Medicines may be necessary. Flowers lift the heart. But your smile is the best restorative of all. ~ Pam Brown

Beauty itself is but the sensible image of the Infinite. ~ Francis Bacon

We force her to think hard about what this will mean for his life, even though he never considered what his actions would do to her. ~ Chanel Miller

Wisdom too often never comes, and so one ought not to reject it merely because it comes late. (Justice Frankfurter) ~ Michael E. Henderson

One of the best ways to achieve justice is to expose injustice. ~ Julian Assange

Intersectionality, and the necessity of considering intersectionality, applies to more than just our social justice efforts. Our government, education system, economic system, and social systems all should consider intersectionality if they have any hope of effectively serving the public.

Intersectionality helps ensure that fewer people are left behind and that our efforts to do better for some do not make things far worse for others. Intersectionality helps us stay true to our values of justice and equality by helping to keep our privilege from getting in our way. Intersectionality makes our systems more effective and more fair. ~ Ijeoma Oluo

We are serious as a heart attack about making the world a better place. ~ Astro Teller

It's not enough to celebrate the ideals that we're built on, liberty and justice and equality for all. Those just can't be words on paper, the work of every generation is to make those words mean something, concrete in the lives of our children. And we won't get there as long as kids in Baltimore or Ferguson or New York or Appalachia or the Mississippi delta or the Pine Ridge reservation believe that their lives are somehow worthless. ~ Barack Obama

Your parents put a curse on you - Someday your kids are going to act just like you. ~ Bill Cosby

The strictest law sometimes becomes the severest injustice. ~ Benjamin Franklin

We're fighting a form of institutional racism that dates back four hundred years, is embodied in our constitution, and is still alive and well here in the Detroit area. ~ Mark M. Bello

The realization of ignorance is the first act of knowing. ~ Jean Toomer

By the mid-1770s, the system of bond labor had been thoroughly transformed into a racial caste system predicated on slavery. The degraded status of Africans was justified on the ground that Negros, like the Indians, were an uncivilized lesser race, perhaps even more lacking in intelligence and laudable human qualities than the red-skinned natives. The notion of white supremacy rationalized the enslavement of Africans, even as whites endeavored to form a new nation based on the ideals of equality, liberty, and justice for all. Before democracy, chattel slavery in America was born. ~ Michelle Alexander