Balanced scales should include judge sitting on equal level
Posted: Sat Jan 11, 2014 10:13 pm
Aboriginal-peoples-only societal institutions are long overdue, with traditional forms of community justice systems—particularly that involving the healing/sentencing circle—being foremost to be universally established.
I feel especially strong about the latter; for I, a white man, had experienced some decades ago the disturbing nature of our potentially unproductive—even destructive—monarchial system of ‘justice.’ One can only imagine how much worse the experience would likely be for a young offender of aboriginal heritage.
Standing before a criminal-trial judge seated way up upon a wood bench, my resultant anxiety had turned what was a minor infraction into a rolling stomach. Thus, we non-aboriginals should acknowledge how beneficial it could be to enable aboriginal communities to practice their healing/sentencing circle for crimes involving aboriginal perpetrators against aboriginal victims.
The healing/sentencing circle has the offender, the victim, their families and an aboriginal moderator sit together in a circle essentially with equal status. Rather than shipping an offender off to jail where he can become an even worse person upon his eventual release, he is made to answer directly to those he has hurt and possibly bring about healing resolution. He hears and responds to his victim’s testament of pain while, if he wishes, expressing his own painful past which may have corrupted him.
Our current, often pompous adversarial justice system could very well learn a positive thing or two from the healing/sentencing circle, especially when dealing with those accused who are already enduring a life affected by mental illness and/or substance abuse.
I feel especially strong about the latter; for I, a white man, had experienced some decades ago the disturbing nature of our potentially unproductive—even destructive—monarchial system of ‘justice.’ One can only imagine how much worse the experience would likely be for a young offender of aboriginal heritage.
Standing before a criminal-trial judge seated way up upon a wood bench, my resultant anxiety had turned what was a minor infraction into a rolling stomach. Thus, we non-aboriginals should acknowledge how beneficial it could be to enable aboriginal communities to practice their healing/sentencing circle for crimes involving aboriginal perpetrators against aboriginal victims.
The healing/sentencing circle has the offender, the victim, their families and an aboriginal moderator sit together in a circle essentially with equal status. Rather than shipping an offender off to jail where he can become an even worse person upon his eventual release, he is made to answer directly to those he has hurt and possibly bring about healing resolution. He hears and responds to his victim’s testament of pain while, if he wishes, expressing his own painful past which may have corrupted him.
Our current, often pompous adversarial justice system could very well learn a positive thing or two from the healing/sentencing circle, especially when dealing with those accused who are already enduring a life affected by mental illness and/or substance abuse.