Summary
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Braithwaite begins with the observation that criminal justice has swung between retribution and rehabilitation for most of the last 100 years. Recently, restoration has emerged as a credible third alternative. In this context, Braithwaite contends that, operationally, restorative justice is defined by rituals he terms “rituals of repentance.� To support this, he provides a theoretical framework for inculcating repentance in the design of institutions. He builds on accounts of the downward spiral of shame and rage in people and relationships. This leads to discussions of reintegrative shaming, conferences as repentance rituals, strategies for nurturing repentance, reconceptualizing criminal fault to invigorate repentance rituals, and issues relating to state justice or community-based justice.
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