Circle justice is an oportunity to change people's lives. The goal is to heal the victim and offender instead of punishing. It seeks healing by using unique methods of sentencing. Both the offender and victim must forgive in order to move on. The ofender needs to escape the circle of crime and punishment and circle justice gives them the skills to do so, while also giving them a meaning to life and helping the victims forgive.
An example of where circle justice has been used is in Minnealapolis, athough it is used a lot thoughout Canada and the United States. The case is layed out as such: Jeremy Boyd, 24, opted for circle sentencing to avoid jail after pleading guilty to cruelty to animals. He strangled his older sister's cat after getting mad at her. He attended a healing circle with the victim before the sentencing. He was sentenced to build 14 geese nesting boxes, attend and anger support group, and fasted. The process took roughly 18 months to complete and Jeremy seems to have been changed and healed. I think that this shows that circle justice is effective even on cases as small as these. It does heal and it accomplishes what it seeks.
Link: http://freenet.msp.mn.us/~fholson/circles-mn/circ-stb.htm
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