Resources

Books

Thérèse de Villette, CSJR co-founder, published in French by Mediaspaul in 2009:

Faire justice autrement
Le défi des rencontres entre détenus et victimes

“Justice has been done!” the media cry when a criminal receives a prison sentence. But that is far from true for the victim: the justice system generally confines the victim to the role of a witness and neglects the scars of the traumatism that he or she will bear for years to come. The offender isn’t in any better position to heal: because of the lawyer’s strategy, the offender must wear a mask, and prison is often a real “school of crime”. On both sides, powerlessness is the rule.

Isn’t there a more humane way to do justice? That is the question Thérèse de Villette, secondary victim of a murder, asks. That is how she discovered, studied, and experimented with “restorative justice”, a process that brings groups of offenders and victims together in a dialogue aimed at healing and reconciliation. In her work, she outlines the history and principles of restorative justice before taking us into a penitentiary to live through the experience. Her book gives a meticulous account of the benefits of an approach that is gaining influence and may emerge as a precious complement to penal justice.