please respond to both post separately with references, thank you!

Timothy's post:

The Focus of The Criminal Justice and Scripture

Timothy Sebastian

Scriptures has much to say about laws and the importance of following laws. Scripture states that God is just, in Isaiah 30:18 "Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him". Also, Psalm 33:5 "He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the LORD." (English Standard Version, 2016) If we understand that God is just, we must also understand that he is gracious and merciful. Scripture also tells us that the cost for breaking God's law is death, and we are all guilty of breaking his law. However, the work of the cross is the greatest example of grace, as God took on our punishment. So what does that say about criminal punishment? Governments are to be extensions of God's authority according to Romans 13.

The focus of criminal justice is not often that of restorative justice. In fact, it focus mostly on criminal rights and punishment. A great source of material from Pamela Lattimore, goes through the decades in which crime was peaking, especially drugs and violence. According to the graphs in the article, through the war on drugs and the 1994 crime bill, punitive justice increased the amount of incarcerations and resulted in large efforts to build more prisons. "[T]he decrease in the violent crime rate that began prior to passage of the 1994 Crime Act continued. And, notably, it preceded the influx of federal funding to put more police on the streets, build more jails and prisons, and place more individuals into the custody of local, state, and federal correctional agencies. Even with a small increase between 2019 and 2020, the violent crime rate in 2020 was 398.5 per 100,000 individuals, well below its 1991 peak of 758.2." (Lattimore, 2022) With punitive justice being the leading form of justice, which is necessary much of the time, a large focus of constitutional rights are considered. The focus is then placed on the criminal, and the victim is expected to be satisfied with the offender being placed in prison.

Resources

English standard version (ESV) - biblegate way.com (2016). From https://www.biblegateway.com/versions/english-standard-version-esv-bible/

Lattimore P. K. (2022). Reflections on Criminal Justice Reform: Challenges and Opportunities. American journal of criminal justice : AJCJ, 47(6), 1071-1098. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-022-09713-5

lisestrella's post

The focus of restorative justice based on my practical and educational experience can vary on the jurisdiction and the specific context. According to University of Wisconsin-Madison, "Restorative justice seeks to examine the harmful impact of a crime and then determines what can be done to repair that harm while holding the person who caused it accountable for his or her actions. Accountability for the offender means accepting responsibility and acting to repair the harm done." Restorative justice is something that emphasizes the harm caused by other people like criminal behavior. Some ways of restorative justice is by an offender apologizing, restitution payments, community service and much more. After the offender has been charged with the crime they are either taken to a prison or are given other options like community services depending on how bad the crime was. This is where criminal rights come in . Criminal rights are a fundamental aspect of the criminal justice system. These rights are made to protect those who are incarcerated from abuse of power by the state or others. Some rights are the right to a fair trial, legal representation, the right to remain silent and much more. An example of this would be the Miranda rights. These must be read to a person when they are getting arrested and must be made clear to them and they must understand. Then it all goes back to the criminal justice system, where us Christian's are trying to help the Lord make the world a better place and help those who are in need. In order for others to help as well they must follow the rules and the higher ups put in place by the lord. Romans 13:1-2 states, "Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2 Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves." At the end they all harmonize with each other and work together by making the system better. To help the pines in need and to also help the Lord make this world a better place.

References

• Holy Bible. E100 Military Edition ed. American Bible Society, 1992.

School, U. of W. L. (n.d.). UW Law Home. About Restorative Justice | University of Wisconsin Law School. https://law.wisc.edu/fjr/rjp/justice.html#:~