NCJ Number
176191
Date Published
1996
Length
50 pages
Annotation
This document examines victims' rights and proposes reforms that would reorient the criminal justice system to a theory of punishment called punitive restitution, which is mainly restitutive in character and which also serves the need of victims for retribution through its punitive measures.
Abstract
The discussion notes that punitive restitution both obtains full restitution and stigmatizes the criminal for wrongdoing, seeking a further unpleasant burden as a penalty for violating the rights of others. The analysis also covers the history and current status of restitution and victims' rights issues related to the perpetration of the crime and its immediate aftermath, the criminal investigation, plea bargaining and prosecution, sentencing, and the period after corrections are complete or have ended. Japanese law and practice are also discussed as an example of the use of offender restitution. Footnotes and lists of other publications from the same institution