Restorative Justice

I thought "Forgiven" was a very interesting article and it posed an interesting concept: restorative justice. For the particular situation described in the article, restorative justice seemed to be a wonderful way of navigating through the terrible process of criminal justice and punishment. Connor McBride showed remorse for his actions, but also an acceptance of his responsibility, which I think is key. Restorative justice would be very hard to implement in situations like that of Patrick Sonnier's in Dead Man Walking because he would not admit to his crime. He remained cocky and remorseless for most of his life in prison and on death row. I think therefore restorative justice would only work if all of the parties were willing and accepting of the situation. The Grosmaires had to have partly forgiven Connor even before the meeting could have taken place. They had to accept that he had killed their daughter, which is not an easy task. McBride had to face the Grosmaires and their pain and grief as a result of what he had done.
I think restorative justice is admirable and I hope that it can be used more frequently. The prison system in America right now is completely broken and I do not think that simply locking criminals away will help the criminals face their actions and begin to work towards redemption. Restorative justice is more in keeping with Catholic social teaching. I think it deals more effectively (when in the right situation) with the emotions and struggles of the people involved (victims, families of victims and the perpetrator).   I think it also gives the families and victims a sense of closure (if they want it).
I do unfortunately think that restorative justice will be a difficult tool to use in most criminal cases. However, if it can be used, I think it should.