Criminal Justice Vs Punitive Justice

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In today’s society, there are multiple assumptions on violence committed by youth. Many assume violence is an innate trait that can never face adaptation. From this perspective, the belief holds that once a violent person, always a violent person. One might then begin to assume that violence is an incurable disease. However, this is simply an erroneous assumption because violence can indeed be cured, but it all depends on the methods used to bring about change in the individual. There are two methods that can be used after a youth commits a crime: punitive justice, which is revenge based punishment, and restorative justice which is a more recent therapeutic option. One might assume that punitive justice is the method to choose when disciplining…show more content…
Matthews doesn’t cast judgement on Andrews or any of the things she has done. Matthews is instead, very understanding towards her and becomes the one person that Andrews can turn to when in need of advice or a friend. In the film, there is a situation at a transitional home for teenage parolees, where viewers are first introduced to Andrews. There was a conflict over money between the residents of the home. In response to the situation, Matthews does not punish the youth, rather she tries to connect with the youth by saying, “Don’t make me feel like a punk. It make feel like, you know what? It’s fighting my own ego. I swear to God I wish I had someone to holler at me like I’m right here hollering at you. I would have not had the felony on my record. You understand what I’m saying?” Ameena possess this remarkable ability of making the situation more personal, where the youth can relate to her. Tio Hardiman, the creator and director of the Violence Interrupters program, gives Matthews recognition as “The golden girl. She gets in where a lot of guys can’t get in. She knows how to talk to these high-risk young men. And a lot of guys that I know, that have a lot of murder in they background, they respect her.” Matthews is respected because she has also lived a life of crime, but she learned from her mistakes and uses her valuable wisdom and background experience to help her community move forward from violence. A second reason why restorative justice should become the prime way in which we discipline our youth is because it proves to lower recidivism rates. If adolescents are not forced to examine their actions and take responsibility for their past mistakes, then ultimately when they are released they will continue to reoffend. Therapeutic treatment is what assists in low recidivism rates, punishment does the
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