W2D2-Responsibility and Accountability

---

  Required Readin" rel="nofollow">ings Zehr, H. (2015). Changin" rel="nofollow">ing lenses: Restorative justice for our times. 25th anniversary edition. Scottdale, PA: Herald Press. • Chapter 1, "A Vignette" • Chapter 3, "The Offender" Zehr, H. (2015). The little book of restorative justice (Rev. ed.). New York. Good Books. • Chapter 1, "An Overview" (pp. 20-27) Discussion 2: Responsibility and Accountability Restorative justice contends that punishment is not true accountability. For example, if children misbehave and are held accountable for their actions through a timeout or losin" rel="nofollow">ing somethin" rel="nofollow">ing of value such as a toy or privilege, they are not actually takin" rel="nofollow">ing responsibility for any harm they may have caused. They are simply bein" rel="nofollow">ing punished. Likewise, if employees are consistently late to work, they may be punished by losin" rel="nofollow">ing pay or not receivin" rel="nofollow">ing a raise. Again" rel="nofollow">in, this doesn't in" rel="nofollow">involve takin" rel="nofollow">ing responsibility for harm they may have caused to others such as fellow employees who had to pick up their duties or responsibilities. In the crimin" rel="nofollow">inal justice system, offenders are held accountable for their actions strictly through the use of some type of punishment. On the surface these punishments may seem as though they hold the offendin" rel="nofollow">ing parties accountable for their actions; however, the concept of accountability is defin" rel="nofollow">ined and used differently in" rel="nofollow">in the context of restorative justice. To prepare for this Discussion: • Review Chapter 3 in" rel="nofollow">in Changin" rel="nofollow">ing Lenses and the selected pages of Chapter 1 in" rel="nofollow">in The Little Book of Restorative Justice. Examin" rel="nofollow">ine the defin" rel="nofollow">inition of accountability in" rel="nofollow">in the context of restorative justice. • Reflect on the quote, "As long as consequences are decided for offenders, accountability will not in" rel="nofollow">involve responsibility," located on page 40 of the course text, Changin" rel="nofollow">ing Lenses. Thin" rel="nofollow">ink about how the current practices of the crimin" rel="nofollow">inal justice system impact offender accountability. • Again" rel="nofollow">in review Chapter 3 in" rel="nofollow">in Changin" rel="nofollow">ing Lenses. Consider the impact of in" rel="nofollow">incarceration on offenders. Thin" rel="nofollow">ink about whether in" rel="nofollow">incarceration practices impact an offender's ability to empathize with victims and if empathy is necessary for offenders to in" rel="nofollow">internalize responsibility. • Select a punishment used in" rel="nofollow">in society. This can be from a school, religious affiliation, busin" rel="nofollow">iness, or other organization. • Thin" rel="nofollow">ink about whether the punishment you chose supports accountability. With these thoughts in" rel="nofollow">in min" rel="nofollow">ind: By Day 4 Post a brief description of the punishment you selected and then explain" rel="nofollow">in the extent to which it supports the restorative justice concept of accountability. Be sure to support your postin" rel="nofollow">ings and responses with specific references to the Learnin" rel="nofollow">ing Resources.