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Select bibliography of key resources on restorative justice


Beyond Retribution: A New Testament Vision for Justice, Crime, and Punishment. Christopher D. Marshall. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Mich., 2001. The best theology to date on restorative justice.

Changing Lenses: A New Focus for Crime and Justice. Howard Zehr. Herald Press, Scottdale, Pa., 1990. A classic on restorative justice, written by a Mennonite Christian.

Christian Faith and Criminal Justice: Toward a Christian Response to Crime and Punishment. Gerald Austin McHugh. Paulist Press, New York, 1978. The first theological book published pointing in a restorative justice direction.

Crime Control as Industry: Towards GULAGS, Western Style. Nils Christie. Routledge, London, 1995. A classic on how the criminal justice systems of Western democracies are modelled after totalitarian regimes.

God and the Victim: Theological Reflections on Evil, Victimization, Justice, and Forgiveness. Lisa Barnes Lampman, editor; Michelle D. Shattuck, associate editor. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Mich. A collection of papers on restorative justice and the victim.

God’s Just Vengeance: Crime, violence and the rhetoric of salvation. Timothy Gorringe. Cambridge University Press, 1996. A theological treatment of restorative justice, particularly in reference to the “satisfaction theory” of the atonement and its consequent “cultural affect”.

Have You Seen Candace?: A true story of faith and forgiveness. Wilma Derksen. Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton, Ill., 1991.

Justice as Sanctuary. David Cayley. Ideas, CBC Radio Works, Box 500, Station A, Toronto Ont. M5W 1E6, 1997. Audio tapes and transcript of interviews with Herman Bianchi, grandfather of restorative justice.

Justice as Sanctuary: Toward a New System of Crime Control. Herman Bianchi, Indiana University Press, Bloomington, 1994. Some highly original interaction with the Bible, particularly the Old Testament, from a non-religious perspective.

Pathways: A Journal of Hope and Healing for Victims of Violent Crime. Wilma Derksen, editor. Victims’ Voice, Mennonite Central Committee Canada, bimonthly publication.

Restorative Justice: Bibliographies. Mennonite Central Committee US, Office of Criminal Justice.

Restorative Justice: An Annotated Bibliography. Paul McCold. Criminal Justice Press, Monsey, 1997.

Restorative Justice: A Vision for Healing and Change. Susan Sharpe, Edmonton Victim Offender Mediation Society, 1998. A Canadian contribution that gives the theory, the practice and the practical “how-to” of restorative justice.

Restorative Justice: Healing the Effects of Crime. Jim Consedine. Ploughshares Publications, Christ-church, 1995. From a Roman Catholic perspective.

Restorative Justice: Toward Nonviolence. Virginia Mackey. Presbyterian Criminal Justice Program, Louisville, 1990. Very practical and challenging.

Restoring Justice. Daniel Van Ness and Karen Heetderks Strong. Anderson Publishing Company, Cincinnati, 1997. A presentation for criminal justice professionals, from a Christian perspective.

Satisfying Justice: A compendium of initiatives, programs and legislative measures. The Church Council on Justice and Corrections, Ottawa, 1996. Case studies, stories and some excellent essays.

Stories of Transformative Justice. Ruth Morris. Canadian Scholars’ Press, Toronto, 2000. Stories and commentary by a justice trailblazer for many decades.

The Expanding Prison: The Crisis in Crime and Punishment and the Search for Alternatives. David Cayley. Anansi, Toronto, 1998. Growing out of his 10-part CBC Ideas series, “Prison and Its Alternatives”, this has the most comprehensive vision of all the publications.

The Fall of the Prison: Biblical Perspectives on Prison Abolition. Lee Griffith. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Mich., 1993. A disturbing and compelling book.

The Justice Professional: “Rediscovering Spiritual Roots: The Judeo-Christian Tradition and Criminal Justice”, Wayne Northey; “Criminology as Peacemaking”, guest editors Dennis Sullivan and Larry Tifft. Gordon and Breach publishers, 1998 (double issue).

The Spiritual Roots of Restorative Justice. Hadley, Michael, editor. New York, SUNY Press, 2001. A collection of essays covering most of the major world spiritualities.

Update/À jour. Church Council on Justice and Corrections quarterly newsletter, 507 Bank Street, Ottawa, Ont. K2P 1Z5.

Victim Meets Offender: The Impact of Restorative Justice and Mediation. Mark S. Umbreit. Criminal Justice Press, Monsey, 1994. Best studies on the issue of “But does it work?”.

Glimmer of Hope. National Film Board, video, 52 minutes. The story of one family encountering the two men who raped and murdered their daughter/sister.

Restorative Justice: Making Things Right. Mennonite Central Committee, video, 22 minutes. Excellent for Sunday school classes, etc.

This bibliography was compiled by Wayne Northey, executive director of M2/W2 Association in Abbotsford, B.C. It is adapted from a much longer bibliography.

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Last modified April 17, 2002.

© 2002 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
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