Unlikely Friends? Oprah Winfrey and Restorative Justice

Abstract

In recent years, restorative justice has surfaced as a new criminal justice practice in diverse parts of the world. Often, it appears that these practices have emerged in complete isolation from one another. This prompts us to question what it is that has allowed restorative justice to become an acceptable way of dealing with criminal justice issues, or in Foucault's terms, the ‘conditions of emergence’ of restorative justice. This article explores one of numerous potential ‘conditions of emergence’ of restorative justice — the discourses of the ‘therapeutic’, ‘recovery’, ‘self-help’ and ‘New Age’ movements. It aims to investigate the ways in which the taken-for-granted nature of these discourses have, in part, permitted restorative practices to become an approved way of ‘doing justice’.

Free the Victim: A Critique of the Western Conception of Victimhood

“…The victims are, in the words of Pavlich (2005), trained to 'adopt a particular identity': they should keep control of their emotions as far as possible, and never become abusive or revengeful ( ... )If possible, victims are encouraged to forgive( ... )'. Burt Gallavay, another founding father of restorative justice, asserted: 'I do not think that we can live with a situation where victims are permitted to be passive by-standers in the healing process or, worse, are encouraged to harbor and nurse vengeance and hatred' (cited by Richards, 2005).…”

“…In recent years, early restorative justice programmes have been critiqued for being based on unproven notions of the capacities and needs of victims (Acorn, 2004;Dignan, 2005;Richards, 2005;Pemberton et al, 2007). The most central objection concerns the positioning of restorative justice as an alternative to criminal justice.…”

Restorative Justice and “Empowerment”: Producing and Governing Active Subjects through “Empowering” Practices

“…Restorative Justice and ''Empowerment'' 93 I have presented the beginnings of this genealogical account of restorative justice elsewhere. I have argued that restorative justice emerged as an accepted criminal justice practice partly because it is informed by a number of therapeutic discourses (for example, self-help and new age discourses) that have gained currency in contemporary Western cultures (Richards 2005(Richards , 2007. I have also argued that a contrasting discourse-the responsibilisation of parents-also operates to legitimise restorative justice practices, albeit in competing, diverse and haphazard ways (Richards 2006(Richards , 2007.…”