Healing circles: A gentler justice 129Predicting content
Considering the title of the chapter, predict which of the following topics will be mentioned
in the reading text.
□ Statistics on crime
□ Involving victims in sentencing decisions
□ Diferent types of punishment for criminal cases
□ Examples of how crime is handled in diferent countries
□ Alternatives to the traditional criminal justice system
Reading text
1 Life is a process of continuous change, and with change comes conlict. We have only to read
a newspaper or watch the news on television to see the signs: vandalism, rioting, thet and rob-
bery, hate crimes and bullying, drive-by shootings and gang warfare, drunk driving and road
rage, mass killings, sexual assault, and many other ofenses. In response to incidents of violence,
we hear an outcry from the public and politicians for more police, tougher laws, and stifer
sentences.
2 FBI statistics show that from 2010 to 2011, violent crime in the United States fell by four per-
cent. Nevertheless, the criminal justice system remains backed up, resulting in delayed, drawn-
out, and even dismissed court cases. In the process, victims and the surviving families of victims
feel abandoned by the courts. Racial and disadvantaged minorities, who are frequently the irst to
be arrested and who oten receive inadequate legal representation and stifer sentences, feel tar-
geted, victimized, and criminalized. Although it is based on the principle of due and fair process,
the criminal justice system pits right against wrong, prosecution against defense, plaintif against
accused—and the outcome is punishment rather than restitution. To bridge the gap between the
legal system and the community, First Nations peoples and local justice oicials in the Yukon Ter-
ritory of Canada turned in the 1980s to the ancient aboriginal tradition of healing circles.
3 Originating with the indigenous peoples of North America, healing circles—also called talk-
ing, or peacemaking, circles—have been used for centuries to repair harm and rebuild peace in
the community. In First Nations culture, the circle symbolizes life and the natural cycles that con-
nect all living things. When people gathered, they traditionally sat in a circle around a ire to tell
stories. As a vehicle for communication, the circle has evolved into an inclusive, nonconfronta-
tional, and safe place for participants to share their experiences and their pain, as well as to resolve
conlicts in a way that beneits everyone.
How healing circles work
4 According to the guiding philosophy of healing circles, helping individuals in need serves
everyone involved in the process. By harnessing collective wisdom, the circle produces solutions
of value to the broader community. In keeping with the belief that everyone and everything are
connected, all participants are treated equally and respectfully and are given equal opportunity to
speak in an open, honest dialogue. he objectives of healing circles are as follows:
◆ To support victims of a crime or harmful behavior
◆ To determine by consensus the appropriate sentence and to assist the ofender in fulilling the
obligations of the sentence
◆ To reinforce the community’s ability to prevent crime