Restitution, Reconciliation, Retribution: Identifying the Forms of Justice People Desire

Abstract

Victims variously experience justice as retribution, restitution, compensation, reconciliation, or forgiveness. Such understandings of justice play a critical role in determining whether a crime situation will be appropriate for victim-offender reconciliation. A victim’s orientation toward a given form of justice will be influenced by the type of harm done, characteristics of the offender, and the nature of any relationship between victim and offender.