Category: Justice

In this narrative, I will attempt to explain the Apology, by Socrates. He proclaimed his innocence of charges that he had suborned the youth men Of Athens and he would attempt to plead his case in front of several Athenian Council members (Alan De Botton, The Consolations of Philosophy, (New York, Vintage Books, 2000),28-29. He believed that Philosophy should attain real results for the greater good of society. He also strived to institute an ethical system based on mortal reason rather than theological doctrine.

He cross-examined himself, in front of those held with the task of convicting him, the reason he should aspire to follow his rule of philosophical inquiry if the dissatisfaction he earned has put his life in harm’s way. Socrates responds to his question by stating that when achieving an activity, the only prudent inquiry to both oneself is if you are acting just or unjust (Socrates/Plato Powerpoint, pg 10). Considerations of life and death are selfish and unimportant next to considerations of justice. While his call to the esoteric life arose from no ancillary strength than Apollo alone, Socrates should be less willing to leave his stake in hopes of the truth than a superior soldier would be to desert his stake in a fray. Socrates’ shrewdness comes from confessing that he does not know what he is unaware of, and he recognizes that one does not know what lies ahead of him in the hear after now that leads him not to dread it; Therefore, a panic of demise, is just another kind of incorrect perception, of affirming to know what you don’t know. Nonetheless, Socrates knows for sure that it would not be logical to be disobedient to the will of Apollo and stop theorizing, so he would be imprudent to do what he knows is not right for dread of a concealed quantity. Socrates goes into great detail to debate that if the court were to exonerate him solely on the state that he gave up philosophizing he would deny their offer, choosing to die rather than desert his allegiance to Apollo. What’s important to him is very clear; Wealth and honor are petty concerns in comparison to the quest for the veracity and the perfecting of one’s soul. Socrates sermonizes to the young men of Athens, and unless such speaking manipulates them, he is not guilty of the charges brought in opposition to him. Unlike most Athenian men, Socrates has largely stayed away from politics and public affairs, choosing to link with people on an independent level. He interprets that this conduct arises from a mystic sign, an inner voice that approaches him and diverts him; This, he proclaims, is the singular reason he has lived to be 70 years old. To demonstrate his point, he cites two 2 junctures in which he contradicted the authorities in the name of justice; In both junctures, he virtually lost his life because of his bravery. (Botton, the Consolations, 17-18

In his Apology, charges were brought on by 3 citizens and Plato narrated the trial that led to the prosecution of his friend and mentor, Socrates. The description disclosed that the values of Socrates’ accusers and his own greatly differed and that the accusers were angered. Those dissimilarities produced conflict between the two parties that climaxed in his trial. With the comprehension that a jury condemned Socrates to death and his protection nevertheless satisfied him because he gave it honestly, it is most practical to call it a good defense because Socrates felt it was the best he could do at that time.

In the end, regarding adversity or condemnation, Socrates addresses the people of Athens and encourages them to follow the Socratic example and act like athletes who are in training for the Olympics. Ibid., 33-34. He also makes a valid point when explaining what to do, to those who are in favor of plans to kill him, he explained that rather than listen to what everyone says about you, focus on what those individuals who are experts in justice and injustices have to say. Ibid., 34-35. According to Socrates, virtue is knowledge which includes understanding why certain things are true, and why the substitutes are incorrect.Ibid.,25. Socrates professed that he started to visualize himself as a spokesperson of the oracle’s words.

Alternatively, instead of professing to have a great deal of knowledge on certain issues, he chose to affirm his inexperience. In the end, he was able to maintain his integrity and be himself. Because he was found guilty, his punishment was to drink a poisonous substance that would eventually end his life. The foremost Socratic irony is that although people are rational when they divulge that they know nothing, Socrates believed that people honestly were illiterate.

Hating segregation, Martin Luther King Jr. didn’t fight against discrimination of blacks alone, he fought depravity without prejudice. He was solid, a brilliant gem who was willing to sacrifice himself for freedom. His phrase “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality; tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly”. Society is in grave need of an understanding of each thing he uttered. Perhaps our schools would see more peace and more thriving if they would go back to teaching his words from his heart of lamenting love for others of all colors.

Everyone understands what it’s like to read a fairy tale, to put themselves in the story as though it is happening to them. Growing up in the countryside outskirts of Seattle, Washington, my peers and I of mixed skin colors were told stories from long ago when people used to judge each other based on the color of their skin. One story captivated my attention. A story of two children in the South in the olden days. On a plantation, they spend the first couple years of life playing together, forming a bond, and then one day they come of age and are informed that they are different and are no longer allowed to play together. The story put me in a moment of grief. It jolted me into a vision of the friend I grew up with, torn from me. I was relieved that racism was a thing of the past and not real life. I idealized a world where we all mixed up our skin colors so much that every one blended and we looked the same.

My uncle married my aunt, whom I barely knew before I was born. She was nice but distant. Her husband was my beloved favorite uncle. His skin was black as coal, his beard was different, coarse, and curly. 300 lbs of muscle. He often held my tiny hands while we sprang up and down on the oversized trampoline. His weight brings the canvas to graze the earth with each blissful jump. He was the kindest gentlest soul I ever knew as a child. He taught the kids in the family to play cards, swam with us, and exemplified to us a solid male role model.

My fairytale life of not knowing racism continued into my adulthood. My brother married a black woman, my other brother married a Filipina. My cousin adopted two Korean daughters from Korea, and things were as I thought they should be. If racism was in the shadowy corners of anyone’s heart in my city, it was well hidden where no one could see.

When I reached 25, I was hit by a drunk driver and rendered crippled for 2 years. I lost my company which made my 7 employees and myself newly unemployed. I married my second husband who was also 25, we had children, and I became a housewife. A couple of years later he had a good job offer in Maui Hawaii. We moved across the ocean. There, as a resident, rather than my prior experience as a tourist on the Islands, I learned about racism. My fairytale belief of racism being dead in America came to a sudden end.

We shipped our van 3,000 miles across the ocean on a barge. When it arrived, I took it to the DMV to transfer my license plates. The tall Japanese lady abruptly refused to give me my new plate and sent me away without reason. I went back to the department 3 more times, each time with my 2 and 4-year-old children, both very blonde hair and pale skin, following along at my feet. Each time after a long wait, my plates were denied. On the last trip, a Hawaiian man kindly issued my plates. Maui was each day, each trip into a grocery store, each encounter with various people a new adventure. Asians and Filipinos who would say hateful things, give us looks and create difficulty for us. Within the first two months, we found meaningful relationships with people of all skin colors to fill our lives with meaning and the ability to thrive. In our neighborhood, at our two churches, we found our village of almost every ethnicity. Black families in Maui are considered howlie along with whites. We were equally hated by the racists there, the Asians and Filipinos who accepted us did so against the morals of their kin. These things gave us deeper bonds. Standing our ground worked, and loving the racist people more eventually brought some to accept us. My oldest daughter, who has other ethnicities in her, encountered far less racism. She looks as though she could be Asian, Hawaiian, Indian, and maybe some others. People often ask her what she ‘is’ and explain she looks as though she could be of several ethnicities. Her looks benefited her, but she still saw racism, especially toward her blonde siblings.

With new understanding came the realization that my childhood fantasies were backward. Every race mixing so that there was no longer a possibility of racism was as backward as doing away with every religion to avoid hatred between belief systems. For sincere love and acceptance to exist, there must be a contrast of differences that can be loved and accepted as they are. There must be black, red, yellow, white, and mixed, all loved in their differences, all loved for their humanness.

After my divorce in Hawaii, my children and I became dislocated looking for a place we could afford to live. I no longer had my company and had no work history for several years prior; work was rare and my oldest was now being turned down for jobs as well. After going to Alabama to have my youngest child’s medical care. Rent was high back home and we found ourselves stuck in Florida because of inexpensive rental homes. We learned to love Florida as one of our homes with each friend we made, but had a new lesson to learn. Central Florida was the place where we would see a new face of racism, this face striking a chord of disharmony deep to my core. It was a division of blacks and whites. One day we visited a park in Dunnellon. The newer toys and baseball fields were inviting. My toe-headed babies ran for the toys and began to scale them as mountains. A black woman looked at my oldest daughter and me and said: “No white people allowed at this park, you have to leave”. I slinked back in shock. My kids began protesting in the car: “Why do we have to leave? We want to play!”. I answered: “Apparently, the South is not part of America that we know, and we are not allowed at this park because of the color of our skin”. That day set the tone for us, making it a greater triumph with each black friend we made.

After living in central Florida for about 4 years, each time we take a trip away, we thoroughly enjoy the change. The freedom of interacting with other ethnicities of people normally. We smile, and they smile sweetly back. We can interact normally; everyone is the same. In central Florida, we have learned to accept the gap as the way things are, but it causes a feeling of strife. Each day is like walking through deep mud that should not exist because it has been cleaned up years ago. Why do only some seem to realize that it’s gone? The invisible mud sticks to our feet and dries on, weighing everyone down, heavy and depressing. When we travel to other places without the mud, it begins to break and fall off in pieces, and the weight lifts, our spirits following suit.

Martin Luther joined with all skin colors when he could. He was willing to risk his life to help those like him. He explained in his ‘Letter from Birmingham Jail’ that he would have been willing to risk the same for white Jews if he had lived in Germany during the Holocaust. Racism of any form is an injustice. And Dr. King was right, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”. With each person who is kind, we cultivate relationships and new opportunities to bring more of what Martin Luther died for.

Introduction

The lawmaking process is a fundamental aspect of any democratic society. It shapes the legal framework that governs our lives and ensures the protection of rights and the maintenance of order. However, it is crucial to acknowledge that the lawmaking process is not perfect and can benefit from improvements. This persuasive essay argues that the lawmaking process can and should be improved to enhance transparency, efficiency, and responsiveness to the needs of the people.

Transparency and Public Participation

One key area for improvement in the lawmaking process is transparency. The process often involves complex procedures and intricate legislative language that can be difficult for the general public to comprehend. Enhancing transparency would involve making legislation more accessible by using clear and concise language that the average citizen can understand. Additionally, the process should provide ample opportunities for public participation, allowing citizens to provide input, voice their concerns, and contribute to the formulation of laws that directly affect their lives. This increased transparency and public involvement would lead to a more inclusive and democratic lawmaking process.

Efficiency and Timeliness

Another aspect in need of improvement is the efficiency and timeliness of the lawmaking process. Delays and inefficiencies can hinder the implementation of necessary legislation and prevent timely resolutions to pressing societal issues. Streamlining the process by reducing bureaucratic obstacles, eliminating redundant procedures, and setting reasonable timelines for decision-making would ensure that laws are enacted promptly and effectively. Improving efficiency also involves promoting collaboration and compromise among lawmakers, fostering a culture of productivity and effectiveness in the legislative bodies.

Evidence-Based Decision Making

A vital improvement that can enhance the lawmaking process is a shift towards evidence-based decision making. Laws should be grounded in sound research, expert opinions, and data-driven analysis. Incorporating scientific evidence and expert insights into the legislative process ensures that laws are based on facts rather than personal biases or political agendas. This approach would lead to more effective policies that address the underlying issues and yield positive outcomes for society. Establishing dedicated research units or expert advisory panels within legislative bodies can facilitate evidence-based decision making and provide lawmakers with the necessary information to make informed choices.

Flexibility and Adaptability

The lawmaking process should also strive for flexibility and adaptability to respond to the changing needs and dynamics of society. Laws are not static but must evolve to keep pace with societal progress and address emerging challenges. Implementing mechanisms for regular review and revision of existing laws would allow for necessary updates and improvements. Additionally, incorporating sunset clauses into legislation, which require periodic evaluation and renewal, would ensure that laws remain relevant and effective over time. By embracing flexibility and adaptability, the lawmaking process can effectively serve the evolving needs of society.

Conclusion

The lawmaking process is a cornerstone of any functioning democracy, but it is not without its flaws. To uphold the principles of transparency, efficiency, responsiveness, and effectiveness, the lawmaking process can and should be improved. Enhancing transparency, promoting public participation, improving efficiency, embracing evidence-based decision making, and fostering flexibility are essential steps in the pursuit of a more inclusive and effective lawmaking system. By implementing these improvements, we can ensure that laws are formulated with the best interests of society in mind, leading to a more just, equitable, and prosperous future for all.

This paper will identify how and why mentally ill individuals have come to be overrepresented in the criminal justice system and highlight the remarkable challenges this has become for police, corrections, and courts. Mentally ill individuals are characterized incorrectly in all aspects of the justice system, from being apprehended to incarcerated. It’s been discovered that 20% of state prisoners and 21 percent of federal prisoners have a continuous history of psychological instability. Upwards of 70% of adolescence in the juvenile system have at least one psychological condition and 20% experience the ill impacts of serious mental instability (Glaze and James 2006; Skowyra and Cocozza 2007).

The number of prisoners with a serious mental disease has been frequently growing since the 1980s. These instances have ended up being unavoidable so much that there is a rise in the number of people with mental issues in a correctional facility than there are in psychological institutions (Torrey et al. 2010). To totally grasp the latest examples of mental illness in the criminal justice system, it is important to first consider the true response to undermined behavior inside the United States. Throughout history, mental illness was viewed as a condition brought on by the supernatural, treated as a kind of sinister being and reestablished through exacting custom-like religion. During the 18th century, the treatment for a psychological problem resembled the restraining of wild animals – individuals were vulnerable to beatings and merciless disciplines. Those with the most extraordinary type of mental problems were much of the time executed or driven away from their communities, while those with the less problematic issue were compelled into mental institutions, workhouses, and jails. A noteworthy number of those detained inside would experience their days shackled in cramped basements.

Because of the horrific therapy of mentally ill prisoners, numerous individuals successfully supported an empathetic way to deal with manage treating dysfunctional behavior. This provoked the advancement of the asylum system in the United States. Unfortunately, the number of people searching for treatment broadened significantly quicker than what the asylum system could oversee. Consequently, mental health institutions became overpopulated, staff to patient ratio diminished significantly, and the nature of care suffered. During the 1960s a high pace of psychological disorders in correctional facilities started with the closing of psychiatric wards and other mental health facilities. Thus, individuals who experience psychological disorders of dysfunctional behavior turned out to be progressively helpless against the criminal justice system.

The number of individuals with dysfunctional behavior in the communities during this time in the 20th century significantly influenced all stages of the criminal justice system. In any case, let us consider contact with the police, the first period of the criminal justice process. Police officers are normally the first responders behind contact incorporating critical conditions with objectively rationally sick individuals (Lamb et al. 2004). They choose if the individual should be connected with treatment resources or on the off chance that they ought to be arrested and taken in for processing. In situations in which the individual is deemed at risk for hurting himself or others, the police may consider that arrest is the most secure methodology, especially if mental resources are limited in the area.

Then again, police officers, who are not experienced, may not see the side effects of dysfunctional behavior, as such unveiling the more unmistakable tendency to use arrest instead of referral to communities’ assets, particularly for minor offenses. It is anything but difficult to see that the criminal justice system was not set up and isn’t set up to give careful mental wellbeing treatment. Most of the inmates with psychological health issues don’t get treatment while imprisoned. For instance, only one out of three state prisoners, one of each four government prisoners, and one out of six correctional facility prisoners who had a mental illness issue get treatment. As anybody would expect, the frustrating conditions of health facilities have been entrapped as a possible explanation behind the higher movements of psychological unsteadiness among detained peoples.

The consistent danger of exploitation, violence, and the nonappearance of social support may add to a higher pace of anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and self-destruction behavior like suicide in correctional settings comparative with the general population. The unexpected rising in confinement all through the latest forty years, joined with the weight of the developing number of rationally sick individuals incarcerated, has driven policymakers and specialists to consider alternative strategies, for example, making the Crisis Intervention Teams and psychological health courts. Crisis Intervention Teams (CITs) are first-responder models of police-based intervention that accomplices with health, advocacy groups, and community. CIT offers training to officers to help individuals encountering mental unsteadiness with the ultimate objective of jail preoccupation with psychological health care (Landsberg 2002).

Officers pick whether the individual requires inpatient care or if they can return to society with a referral to search for help from another organization association. CIT involves mentally ill individuals from interacting with the criminal justice system by expanding the help they get from psychological health services, and in this way diminishing the danger of arrest when ‘in crisis.’ Officers are prepared in de-escalation tactics that help settle many of these emergency circumstances, which might be particularly valuable if community health agencies are not promptly accessible (Dupont and Cochran 2000).

The CIT model has been seemed to diminish arrest to two percent of episodes compared with a national normal of 20% (Steadman et al. 2000). To this end, crisis intervention teams seem, by all accounts, to be promising to connect rationally sick wrongdoers with comprehensive community mental health services. This would likely keep various debilitated individuals who do minor offenses from being handled through the criminal justice system. Mental health courts seem, by all accounts, to be another practical strategy to achieve this goal. Different exploration has found mental health courts to effectively lessen and keep low-level individuals out of jail and prison (Christy et al. 2005; Ferguson et al. 2008a,2008b; McNiel and Cover 2007;).

“To what extent did the Salem witch trials affect the American legal system?”

Between the time of 1692-1693 in the American colony of Massachusetts, there were a series of prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft. This mainly occured in the city of Salem and it resulted in the accusation of two hundred people and the death of over thirty people. To keep authority in the city, often women were the ones accused of witchcraft but men and children were accused and killed as well. After seeing the results of multiple trials it was clear to the community that a person could be accused of charges of witchcraft, or for making a deal with the Devil and that would result in their deaths. However, if they pleaded guilty to the accusations they were relieved of all crimes but were believed to have tainted their relationship with God and were seen as genuine witches by the people of Salem. “Puritans believed that such a confession, even if it wasn’t true, could damn a person’s soul to hell.” Although a confession would save the life of a person who pleaded guilty, it would not ensure that their life would remain safe because it would cause more future accusations. The irony is that none of the accused Salem witches who confessed were convicted or executed but of the people who refused to confess were found guilty and executed. Pleading not guilty meant they could save their souls from their sins. If they pleaded not guilty and were convicted anyway and sentenced to hang, the people accused knew that at least they were innocent in the eyes of God and they would still go to heaven. An overwhelming majority of people accused and convicted of witchcraft were women (about 78%). Overall, the Puritan belief and prevailing New England culture was that women were inherently sinful and more susceptible to damnation than men were. Throughout their daily lives, Puritans, especially Puritan women, actively attempted to evade the attempts by the Devil to overtake them and their souls. Puritans had the belief that men and women were equal in the eyes of God, but not in the eyes of the Devil. Women’s souls were seen as unprotected in their weak and vulnerable bodies. Several factors may explain why women were more likely to admit guilt of witchcraft than men, which can be seen through the number of deaths and reasoning for both men and women. There were four execution dates and the victims included important figures like the first case who was Bridget Bishop who had already previously accused years before, Rebecca Nurse, Sarah Good, Elizabeth Howe, Susannah Martin, Sarah Wildes along with many other people who were all hung along with 5 other deaths in jail and possibly the most important and influential death which was of Giles Corey, who was pressed to death by a boulder because after being arrested, he refused to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty and this later became one of the most crucial moments in american history. “​He was subjected to pressing to force him to plead—the only example of such a sanction in American history—and died after three days of this torture.”

By the fall of 1692, the witch-hunting hysteria began to die down as more and more people began to doubt that so many people could be guilty of witchcraft. People had urged the judicial courts not to admit any evidence and to rely only on a clear and convincing testimony. As well, “In May of 1693, the remaining accused and convicted witches were released from prison. The Salem Witch Trials only lasted a little over a year and had very little practical impact on the Colonies at large. However, “the trials and executions had a vivid afterlife in the American consciousness, giving rise to a wealth of scholarship and an abundance of cultural artifacts including paintings, novels, plays, and films.” “Before the constitutional turmoil of the 1680s, the Massachusetts government had been dominated by conservative Puritan secular leaders. While Puritans and the Church of England both shared a common influence in Calvinism, Puritans had opposed many of the traditions of the Church of England, including the use of the Book of Common Prayer, the use of clergy vestments during services, the use of the sign of the cross at baptism, and kneeling to receive communion, all of which they believed constituted popery. King Charles I was hostile to this viewpoint, and Anglican church officials tried to repress these dissenting views during the 1620s and 1630s. Some Puritans and other religious minorities had sought refuge in the Netherlands but ultimately many made a major migration to colonial North America to establish their society.” The Salem witch trials have changed religious and political views in America today because Puritans began to separate protestant sects.” Aw well as that it was able to discourage a disconnection between religion and government, which also helped to lead to the idea of “Separation of church and state’.

Afflicted girls screamed in fear, holding on to one another in terror. Scared witnesses in the courtroom looked on as the girls pointed into the empty air, Each day, more townspeople were arrested and thrown in jail to wait for a hearing or trial, accused of witchcraft and teaming up with the devil. The people of Salem, Massachusetts didn’t know who to trust. Neighbor accused neighbor. Issues were blamed on witchcraft, and the accused were tired of their lives based on the testimony of the afflicted girls accusations that the suspects’ spirits were tormenting and threatening them. In the end, in the time of just a few short months, nearly thirty people had been executed by hanging. What led to such an extreme hysteria of panic that and made hundreds of people turn on each other. The salem witch trials were caused by ignored girls who were taken advantage of by reverend parris and not ergot poisoning

The Salem witch trials wouldn’t have taken place if it wasn’t for the Puritans belief in witches. The puritans were a catholic group of people who traveled for religious reasons. The puritans were fundamentalists. fundamentalists are people who believe every word of the Bible they go to church everyday and they pray 24 hours a day. Since the Puritans were fundamentalists and believed every word in the Bible they believed this verse “ thou shalt suffer a witch to live” (Exodus 22:18) that is the base of how the witch trials started this verse.

The afflicted girls could not have gotten ergot poisoning. Because even if they made the bred with ergot with their hands and ate it. if they got ergot poisoning they would have died in a few months and they would have gangrene and their fingers would have turned black. So the girls getting ergot poisoning is very unlikely

The girls in the salem society were not really respected they had two jobs in life which was to stay home and cook and clean. the afflicted girls wanted more than that in life than to cook and clean and they felt ignored and they wanted attention. one of the afflicted girls Abigail Williams parents were murdered by native Americans right in front of her. she wanted revenge on the witches because puritan children were raised knowing that the Native Americans were witches. So the afflicted girls in slem society were ignored until the salem witch trials.

Reverend Parris was the father of Elizabeth Parris and uncle of Abigail Williams. the people on the east didn’t like3 reverend Parris and that’s where most of the accused witches were. The two afflicted girls who did most of the accusing are part of reverend Parrises family and one of the victims of the Witch trials George Burroughs was reverend Parris’s number one enemy and Tituba the person who told the girls the stories and showed them voodoo tricks was reverend Parris’s slave so reverend Parris took advantage of the girls urge for more power to his own advantage.

Before countries began to colonize the New World in 1492, there were many groups of Native Americans in the Americas. They had developed their own cultures, religions, and ways of life. Eventually, in search of the west indies, Christopher Columbus found south America. Spain had more advanced weaponry and fast-spreading diseases that allowed them to quickly take over South America. Their oppression of the natives’ culture, religion, and rights created high tensions and lead to revolts, such as the pueblo rebellion in New Mexico. Their goal was to find wealth in this new land and spread Catholicism to the natives. Soon after, England started to colonize North America. It became a place to grow cash crops in the south and escape religious persecution farther north. One major religious group in Massachusetts was the puritans. They formed tight communities and had strict beliefs, but they began to turn on each other when their faith was in question, by accusing others of being witches and leading to the Salem witch trials. Tensions such as these were not uncommon in the new world. The pueblo revolt and the Salem witch trials represent different tensions in colonial America, the pueblo revolt represents tensions between the natives and the colonists while the Salem witch trials represent tensions between people who are of the same group.

The pueblo revolt was a product of Spanish colonization. They had colonized new Mexico for religious and economic gain. In order to spread their religion, the Spanish forced Catholicism on the natives of their new colonies. Missionaries in their new Mexico colony burned the pueblo burial grounds and other religious objects to get them to convert. They were also expected to obey Spanish law and were tried in their courts. When they broke these laws they received severe punishments. They would be jailed, abused, or forced into slavery. Spain also forced the pueblos to grow and give them corn.1 This caused frustrations for the Pueblos, they did not believe in their god, they were not accustomed to their laws, and they did not want to be controlled by the Spanish. In addition to these, the pueblos also faced struggles due to large drought and attacks on their villages, making it harder for them to grow the corn Spain needed or trust them and their god for protection, leading to even higher tensions in new Mexico.

Eventually, the natives grew upset enough to start the Pueblo revolt. Many rebellions had been planned before, but none were as successful. The revolts had been too small and were easily managed by Spain. The pueblo revolt was on a much larger scale with the main objective, of getting their freedom. An Indian by the name of the pope organized it, creating its other name, Pope’s rebellion. He united the people and told them what to do. They destroyed the churches, separated their catholic marriages, and washed off their baptism running through rivers, so they could get rid of all Catholic elements in their lives. Pedro Naranjo, a prisoner of the natives explains their religious motive as, “They thereby returned to the state of their antiquity…that this was the better life and the one they desired because the God of the Spaniards was worth nothing and theirs was very strong, the Spaniard’s God being rotten wood”2. The natives no longer wanted to be under the control of the Spaniards or to worship their god, when he was not as powerful as their own. Religion played a very important role in the colonies, and in native American lives. They had certain rituals and beliefs but were forced to abandon them when they were colonized.

The tensions in new Mexico can be seen through the pueblo revolt. Spain forced religion on the natives, so they destroyed everything related to Spanish catholicism. They were controlled by Spain, so they fought to win that control back. This reflects many colonial tensions of the times between the natives and the colonizers. Not only for the pueblo Indians but also for Indians everywhere. Religions and cultures that were not their own were forced onto them by the colonizers, specifically in Spanish colonies. However, both the British and the Spanish forced the natives into labor. Just as the Spanish forced the Pueblos to grow corn for them, or into slavery, colonies all across the new world did too. And although it wasn’t one of the most important factors leading to the pueblo revolt, it did cause tensions just like everywhere else.

The Salem witch trials also came from religious roots. When the Puritans of Salem, Massachusetts faced issues that would make it seem like they weren’t favorable in the eyes of God, they began to blame it on witches. Instead of taking personal blame, they would say that the women of the town were worshiping the devil and had cursed them. And just as the Spaniards had unfair trials and aggressive punishments, so did the accused witches. Not much evidence was needed to find a so-called witch guilty, and a common punishment was execution by burning, drowning, or hanging. In a letter from Deodat Lawson to Nathaniel Higginson of England, he explains the trials saying what is happening to the accused at the trials. Deodat Lawson writes, “taking Pins out of the Clothes of the afflicted, and thrusting them into their flesh; many of which were taken out again by the Judge’s own hands. Thorns also in like-kind were thrust into their flesh,”3. The accused women would be stabbed and injured in their trials causing people to be blind, deaf, or pass out. Some people claimed that stabbing the witches with the pins would cause them to feel the pain before the accused got pinned, and then would act as if it was hurting them as well, therefore proving the accused was a witch. One woman, Bridget Bishop, was accused of using witchcraft to hurt people from her town, as well ask to kill her husband. She denied being a witch and harming anyone. In the court transcript the judge asks, “You are here accused by 4. Or .5. for hurting them, what do you say to it?” to which she replies “I never saw these persons before, nor I never was in this place before.”4 She was put through many trials for her crimes, but with no other evidence other than the accuser’s claims, she declared guilty and executed by hanging. This was a common situation for many accused, where they would deny being witches, or harming anyone, and there would be a lack of evidence, but they were still found guilty on account of another’s words.

The Salem witch trials reflect tensions between people from the same place. It became a scapegoat for people whose crops were dying, were acting strangely or had otherwise faced misfortune. This was done for their own social gain. The puritan religion stated that anyone who faced misfortune or had bad luck wasn’t part of the elect, people were saved from damnation. So, when people felt like others were noticing their problems, they would blame it on someone else, saying they were a witch that had cursed them. Samuel Parris wrote in his sermon notebook, “The Devil and his Instruments will be warring against Christ & his followers. Text. These shall make war with the Lamb”5. The people of Salem felt as though witches were the instruments of the devil, and that they wanted to cause problems for the followers of Christ, which he refers to as the lamb. Other religions also put a strong emphasis on the need for salvation. Across the colonies, many people relied on their religions and frowned upon those who were not religious or didn’t represent their values well. This commonality was caused by the fact that all the colonies come from the same place, Europe, which had very strict laws and regulations regarding religion. Many of the colonies were formed to find safety and freedom from their religion, but old habits remained, keeping religious

values and expectations strict in the new world. However, none were quite as extreme as the puritans in the Salem witch trials. They were a very exaggerated example of conflict within religions in the colonies.

The Salem witch trials and the Pueblo revolt were strongly influenced by the spiritual world. The Natives in New Mexico were forced to convert to a religion that wasn’t theirs, and puritan people were accused of witchcraft to protect the reputation of others. The Salem witch trials reflected the high intensity of religion, and the lengths people are willing to go to prove their allegiance to that religion. They were even willing to prioritize the community’s perception of themselves over the safety and perception of their neighbors. In comparison, the pueblo revolt was an external conflict. Like many other native Americans, the Pueblo Indians were fighting for religious freedom. European countries would often force their religion onto the native people of the new world, which caused many uprisings similar to the Pueblo revolt.

These events were mainly sparked by religious tension in the colonial world. Religion was a very important aspect of colonial culture that in all of history has led to many wars and conflicts, both internally and with others.

In conclusion, the Pueblo revolt reflects tensions in the colonies between the native peoples and the colonizers, while the Salem witch trials reflect tensions within religions. Both of which, as well as many other tensions across the colonies, are deeply rooted in religious beliefs and cultures. Like the Salem witch trials and the pueblo revolt, many tensions in the colonies were created by people who were looking for personal gain and led to violence. They both represented colonial tensions in the new world in aspects of religion, society, and power.

Footnotes

1. The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica “Pueblo Rebellion,” Encyclopaedia Britannica (Encyclopaedia Britannica, inc., May 19, 2008), https://www.britannica.com/event/Pueblo-Rebellion
2. . “Account of the Pueblo Revolt,” Digital History, accessed September 24,2019, http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=3&psid=3916
3. Lawson, Deodat. Letter. 2010. “Salem Witch Trials.” Salem Witch Trials, 2010. http://salem.lib.virginia.edu/letters/lawsons_london_letter.html.
4. “SWP No. 013: Bridget Bishop Executed, June 10, 1692.” SWP No. 013: Bridget Bishop Executed, June 10, 1692 – New Salem – Pelican. The University of Virginia. Accessed September 23, 2019. http://salem.lib.virginia.edu/n13.html.
5. “The Sermon Notebook of Samuel Parris: September 11, 1692: Salem Witch Trials.” The Sermon Notebook of Samuel Parris: September 11, 1692, | Salem Witch Trials. The University of Virginia. Accessed September 23, 2019. http://salem.lib.virginia.edu/sermons/parris16920911.html.

Bibliography

1. “Account of the Pueblo Revolt.” Digital History. Accessed September 24, 2019. http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=3&psid=3916.
2. Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Pueblo Rebellion.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., May 19, 2008. https://www.britannica.com/event/Pueblo-Rebellion.
3. Lawson, Deodat. “Salem Witch Trials.” Salem Witch Trials. University of Virginia Library, 2010. http://salem.lib.virginia.edu/letters/lawsons_london_letter.html.
4. “SWP No. 013: Bridget Bishop Executed, June 10, 1692.” SWP No. 013: Bridget Bishop Executed, June 10, 1692 – New Salem – Pelican. The University of Virginia. Accessed September 23, 2019. http://salem.lib.virginia.edu/n13.html.
5. “The Sermon Notebook of Samuel Parris: September 11, 1692: Salem Witch Trials.” The Sermon Notebook of Samuel Parris: September 11, 1692, | Salem Witch Trials. The University of Virginia. Accessed September 23, 2019. http://salem.lib.virginia.edu/sermons/parris16920911.html.

You wake up in your room on a Sunday morning, take a nice, warm shower and put on your fluffy socks and outfit of the day. After watching an episode of your favorite show you walk out the door to get some breakfast. Upon eating a filling breakfast, you decide to head over to the volleyball court to play with friends. After a while, you decide to head to the gym, on the way there you walk past the music studio where your friends are recording their new song. You make your way over to the gym where you work out for a couple of hours before heading back to your room and taking another shower. You then head out for dinner. As soon as you finish eating you decide to go back to your room to go to sleep since you have to wake up early to go to work early the next morning.

Although this seems like a dream day for any normal person, it is the reality for the average Norwegian prisoner. Norway is considered to have some of the most humane prisons in the world and its criminal justice system allows for the lowest recidivism rates in Europe. This is because instead of punishing the criminals for the crimes they committed, Norway focuses on rehabilitating them and prepares them for a better life after prison. Due to there not being a life sentence in Norway, most of their prisoners will eventually be let back into society. More than 89% of jail sentences in Norway are shorter than one year, compared to the United States where less than 2% serve a sentence that is a year long or shorter. Therefore Norwegian prisons want to let out someone who is motivated to live a life free of crime. instead of someone who is longing for revenge on the state.

Norway rehabilitates its inmates by treating them as humanely as possible, Even the prisoners who have committed the most horrible crimes in Norway are still seen as human beings, and treated accordingly. Their punishment does not exceed a lack of freedom, and they still keep the rest of their rights as Norwegian citizens, such as voting, education, and healthcare. In addition, their rooms are built to feel like a home instead of a cell. Of course, the standard of a cell depends on which prison you look at, however, take Halden prison as an example, there, each cell is fully equipped with a bed, a small fridge, their own private bathroom, a tv, desk, and a chair. However, the feeling of comfort and home does not only lie in the cells of the inmates but also the rest of the prison. In Halden prison, there is a music studio called Criminal Records where the inmates can produce and record music, a grocery store called Justisen which translates to The Justice where the prisoners can buy anything they might need with their monthly allowance. There is also a library, a gym, a library, a family visiting room, a computer room, and a volleyball court where the prisoners often play with each other and other inmates. To reduce the feeling of living in captivity for the prisoners, the prison walls do not have barbed wire. The prison was built in the middle of the woods, therefore, the architect of the prison incorporated a lot of nature into the design of the prison, there are trees, berries, bushes and natural terrain inside the prison walls.

The prisons in Norway also offer drug treatment programs for inmates who suffer from any kind of drug addiction, to help them stay away from drugs once they’re released from prison. Norway does not only offer drug rehabilitation programs inside of prison, but they also have a program called The Narkotikaprogram, this program is offered to convicted drug users who can choose to sign up for, instead of going to prison. Norway’s goal for this program is to decrease drug-related misconducts and deaths since the country has the second to highest amount of people dying of drugs or drug-related incidents in the EU, with 69.6 to every million, only coming after Estonia.

Having a job is believed to be a major factor in decreasing recidivism, therefore all prisoners in Norwegian prisons have the right to receive an education while in prison, which increases their chances of getting a job upon their release. Most inmates are even forced to have jobs while still in custody, some being in-prison jobs, like making food, packing boxes, cleaning, or other jobs the prison might offer, and some in normal workplaces like grocery stores or bakeries. The prison also offers courses to teach the inmates many different sorts of life skills that they may need once they are released, such as cooking classes, assembly workshops, and woodworking courses.

The effects of these unique methods can be seen already while the prisoners are still serving their sentences. In an interview conducted by The Guardian, prison governor for Halden Prison, Are Hoidal says that there is rarely any violence in the prison, and he claims to not even remember the last time there had been a fight. There are no warning signs about picking up hitchhikers around Halden prison because no inmate has ever tried to escape the prison.

Considering Norway’s criminal justice system is so focused on bettering the lives of criminals it is no surprise that Norway is home to the first and only ever full-island prison, Bastoy prison. This is a prison that is built entirely on an island in Horten Norway, just south of Oslo. On this island, prisoners have their own houses with their door that the prisoners themselves decide when should be opened and closed. The island is home for 115 prisoners and it has 70 employees. On the island, you will find a church, a grocery store, a school, a library, a dock, NAV (government social services), a lighthouse, beach zones, a football field, agricultural land, and more. All prisoners on the island are forced to go to work or school every day, this could be on the island or on the outside. There are about 15 people on average at all times who work or study outside the island. They take the ferry from and back to the island every day. Dan oyvind Helle, a previous inmate at Bastoy prison, says “ it [ Bastoy Prison ] is a unique place to serve your sentence because here you are given many opportunities if you are genuinely interested in doing something with your life ”, he also says that is is a much easier transition back into society after serving a sentence in a prison like Bastoy compared to a normal prison.

All of these luxuries do not come for free, a prison like Halden Prison costs 250 million dollars just to build, and another 93 thousand dollars per inmate every year, which is three times more than the average cost of a prisoner in the United States. These prisons are funded partially by the Norwegian citizen’s tax money, which is much higher than most other countries in Europe. In addition to Norwegian taxes being so high, when buying any purchased goods in Norway, consumers pay a 25% VAT tax, which except for the other countries in Scandinavia, only Hungary has a higher rate. However, all of these taxes do not go to funding Norwegian prisons, the money also funds free health service, free state education, and cheap child care, all of these factors are believed to be major contributors to Norway being ranked second on the world happiness reports from 2015 to 2017.

Some may argue that it is unjust that lawful citizens have to pay for criminals to live in what may be considered a luxury, considering some of the prisoners have committed horrible crimes like rape and murder. However, low recidivism rates mean lower crime rates, which benefits the citizens of Norway by making Norway a safer place to live. Furthermore less theft and robberies will lead to grocery stores profiting more, which allows for lower prices on purchased goods.

People might say that the low recidivism rates in Norway are not a result of the way prisoners are treated in prison, but if you compare Norway now to Norway 40 years ago it is easy to see a difference. Norway’s recidivism rates have not always been this low. Back in the 1980s the prisons were completely different and quite similar to how American prisons are today, with a system focusing on harsh punishment instead of rehabilitating treatment of prisoners. This system lead to many riots, violent outbreaks, an exceptionally high number of attempted and successful escapes, and even deaths inside of the prisons. During this time, Norway’s recidivism rates were sky high, with 80% of felons reoffending after being released from jail, this is the same as the current recidivism rate in the United States.

In the early 1990s Norway’s Correctional Service made many changes to the Norwegian criminal justice system, with a new aim to focus on rehabilitating the criminals and trying to help them, instead of punishing them. Since these new rules and strategies have been implicated, Norway’s recidivism rates have dropped to only 20%, which is the lowest criminal reoffending rate reported in the entire world. In addition, prisons have become more peaceful and violence is something you rarely see.

In a traditional approach to school discipline, the enquiry is one of blame and punishment. This retributive approach, initially described as a ‘quick fix’, does not provide significant evidence that this tactic leads to the required change of behaviour (Blum, McNeeley & Rinehart, 2002).

A restorative approach, on the other hand, is focused on helping to realize the impact of someone’s action and repairing the harm. It encompasses understanding that the harm has been done and work with those involved to help them take responsibility for their actions and to learn from what happened and come up with a mutually agreed way forward. Zehr (2002) advises that working with those who have offended, using the Social Control Window (Wachtel, 1999), provides more positive outcomes for all involved and young offenders are encouraged to make amends and in effect, change their offending behaviour permanently. It is worth noting that restorative approaches also work with those participants coming from poorer backgrounds and where criminal activity in the family takes place on a regular basis. In her ground-breaking work on evaluating the values and behaviour of students and families who live in poverty, Payne (2009) proves that the chance is possible for everyone, regardless of their background or financial status. She emphasizes the importance of teaching how to behave while in school, even if it is different from how they behave in the outside world.

Case study

In April 2019, Essex Restorative and Mediation Service (ERMS) was contacted by Wilkin & Sons, a world-famous jam factory, after Essex Police had visited the factory to offer crime prevention advice, following concerns the company had raised regarding criminal and antisocial behaviour that had been taking place. Greenhouses and crops had been damaged and there were concerns that youngsters entering the premises may injure themselves as well as damaging the property and assets of the business.

The local secondary school agreed to take part in the process and ERMS delivered workshops to more than 200 Year 10 students over the course of two days.

The pupils learnt how Restorative Justice works, and how it can be put into practice; they took part in Conflict Resolution skills training and Victim Awareness course. They were also taught the importance of good relations between Wilkin & Sons, it’s Tiptree jam factory, and the local community., They also visited the factory for a tour and met with Children’s and Young Persons Officers from Colchester’s Community Policing Team.

Roger Hirst, Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex, said: “Bringing people together in this way to develop understanding is just one of the great ways that restorative justice can make a difference to the lives of both people in local communities and local businesses. Cracking down on anti-social behaviour is one of the priorities in our Police and Crime Plan and this project has helped to educate and hopefully prevent ASB incidents from happening in the future.”

Since the RJ intervention, Wilkin & Sons has reported no further antisocial behaviour incidents at the factory premises, demonstrating a better relationship between the factory and the local community, and resulting in fewer calls to the Police, in effect reducing their workload.

Ethical considerations and criticism of Restorative approaches

Although restorative approaches have been successfully implemented in almost every field in everyday life, it is important to discuss some of the ethical considerations which arise from inappropriate use of restorative justice.

Critics of restorative interventions have argued that it is a ‘soft option’. There is really no comparison between a restorative meeting in which an offender takes full, direct and personal responsibility for their actions, and a formal court hearing at which they may be present but are barely involved. In fact, a number of wrongdoers who were offered restorative justice have been known to opt for traditional court action and its consequences because, of the two options, it is the court which they view as softer. It is also important to remember that a restorative meeting can take place once the sentence has been handed down, which automatically rules out the option of restorative justice as a ‘jail free’ card.

Another ethical consideration about using restorative work is, according to common criticism, a failure to respect participants’ human rights. Obviously, there are risks with restorative interventions around issues such as the right to a defence and potential risk of re-victimisation of the victims. Human rights moreover lie at the very heart of restorative justice and such potential pitfalls are not an argument not to facilitate a meeting which is run because of a victim’s preference to meet the person which caused them harm on the base of voluntary participation and informed consent. Additionally, equally important is the training which facilitators receive. Each practitioner is trained to the highest standard about the importance of impartiality, critical listening, empathy, reading non-verbal communication and managing difficult emotions.

Conclusion

Restorative Justice, although it has a long history, is still being considered as a relatively young discipline in the Criminal Justice system, but a growing amount of evidence (Blum et al., 2002; Payne, 2009) suggests that restorative approaches are becoming a powerful tool to address offending behaviour in young members of the community. Restorative approaches have got a power to shape young minds who can then make better choices relating not only to criminal activities but also their attitude towards other lifestyle choices, such as use of drugs & alcohol and sexual behaviour. Implementing restorative approaches in schools leads to a reduction in offending behaviour in the classroom and among peers. Although restorative justice is getting more popular when addressing youth delinquency, there is still a lot of work that needs to be done to help shape young offenders’ minds with regard to negative behaviour, to antisocial behaviour, especially when such behaviour is a response to other underlying issues such as poverty, abuse, county lines or a family’s financial struggles.

Forgiveness restores relationships, friendships, and families. It is the first step to a process of healing for someone who was holding onto a traumatic situation. There should be restorative justice because it is a powerful and important tool to rehabilitate the offender, victim and community to come together in reconcile without being against one another.

The person who was credited with creating the name “restorative justice” was American psychologist Albert Eglash. Eglash wrote in “1959 article “Creative Restitution: Its Roots in Psychiatry, Religion and Law,” which was then compared and contrasted in his 1977 article “Beyond Restitution: Creative Restitution” with the retributive justice (punishment-focused justice) and rehabilitative justice (justice focused on personal reform) perspectives.” Restorative justice sees crime as an offense against governmental authority. It destroys human relationships and bruises victims, communities, and even offenders. Each group is broken and have needs to be met so healing can begin. Crime turns people against one another due to stress, distrust, suspicion, discrimination, division. Crime opens the door to division between friends, relatives, and communities. Britannica states that “restorative justice outcome include restitution, community service, and victim-offender reconciliation.”

In Dallas, Texas, a recent white woman named Amber Guyger, who was a Dallas police officer, was convicted of murdering Brandt Jean’s brother, Botham Jean in his own apartment on September 6, 2018. Guyger mistook Botham Jean’s apartment to be her own, one floor down from his. On ABC News, Guyger’s defense attorneys explains, “Guyger made a tragic and ‘reasonable mistake,’ believing she’d interrupted an intruder in her own home and using lethal force to defend herself.” But this is not something you let slide just because she assumed and mentally didn’t recognize that was her own home, that’s just an excuse. On September 13, 2018 ABC News states, that “hundreds of friends, loved ones and work colleagues pack Jean’s funeral at the Greenville Avenue Church of Christ in the Dallas suburb of Richardson. Several busloads of students and former classmates of Jean from Harding University, a Christian liberal arts college in Searcy, Arkansas, where Jean graduated in 2016, also attend the service.” Guyger was going to have to answer to so many people that known Jean. Guyger tried calling 911 in her car after the incident and was concerned more about losing her job than the innocent life she just took in Jean’s own apartment, and that was unfair and wicked.

Guyger was convicted of murder on October 1 and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Brandt Jean was being an a good example of how you supposed to be as a Christian. Brandt told Guyger that he forgives her for murdering his older brother, that she needs Christ and asked the judge if he could hug her. This is an act of restorative justice. Everyone was shocked about what was seen, because it was unexpected by someone whose older brother got murder for no reason. But brought everything into perspective that we should be open to forgive those who do us wrong, so we can be forgiven.

I believe we should maintain or upgrade our ways in restorative justice by building up the act of forgiveness and love despite the outcome. Yes, there is a process and it’ll be hard but, in the end, it’ll bear fruit for future generations, that there won’t be any resentment, anger, hurt rooted within victims’ hearts. This act in short-term will cause the offenders to change their actions, hearts and ways in order to become a person that make wise choices before being “trigger happy.” This will help the offender understand how they were wrong, still have to serve their time in prison but is able to receive love. In the long-term, peace will be on the victim’s hearts because they forgave their offenders and they won’t have to hold anything against them, so they can live their lives peacefully without allowing what the offenders did to traumatize the and ruin their lives.

The negative result of this will cause people who are against this to bully and talk down on the people who choices to forgive others. They will call them weak people and want to persecute them for standing up to be the bigger person. I have encounter being abused plenty of different ways when I was younger and I had to come into a place where I forgive others actions so I can survive. When you or your family is under attack, forgiveness is the best gift to have so the tragedy doesn’t break you inside out. True forgiveness will set you or the other person free.

The ways Guyger can give back to the people is by giving the family money that they need to support their family. This will be a lot of money due to also paying off Botham Jean’s funeral and the family medical bills. Guyger should do a lot of community service after she gets out of prison to make up for causing commotion within the Dallas Police Department community’s neighbor. Guyger will have to show the community that she can be trusted to live around that place and to show how she’d change her ways. This act goes for any crime that was committed unless they’re mentally crazy and unstable to the point they have to be away from public communities all together. These three will be extra steps in making a living back into society without taking away all of their rights such as jobs, food stamps, housing, and etc. Even though people make the wrong decisions and are not right in their minds when have to know that what we do in private and dark is no greater than what they have done themselves. Murder is wrong and heartbreaking, but we cannot murder another person’s life benefits. They have to serve the time in person and outside of it as well.

Works Cited

1. Heath-Thornton, Debra, et al. “Restorative Justice.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2016, www.britannica.com/topic/restorative-justice.
2. Hutchinson, Bill. “Death of an Innocent Man: Timeline of Wrong-Apartment Murder Trial of Amber Guyger.” ABC News, ABC News Network, 2 Oct. 2019, abcnews.go.com/US/death-innocent-man-timeline-wrong-apartment-murder-trial/story?id=65938727.