HN 350 - Restorative Justice and Criminal Law

(3.00 cr.)

Restricted to Honors students. The incarceration rate in the United States has reached one out of every one hundred adults. To many, such vast incarceration reflects the moral ills of innumerable individuals, as well as social injustices. Both restorative justice and Catholic social thought appear to agree that our society witnesses too much incarceration and too little healing of victims, offenders, and social consciousness. Restorative justice is a process to involve, to the extent possible, those who have a stake in a specific offense and to collectively identify and address harms, needs, and obligations in order to heal and put things as right as possible. Questions discussed: Can forgiveness play a role in criminal justice? Should a teenager be given a life sentence? Can linguists solve crimes that stump the police? Can society find new approaches to curb domestic homicide? Counts as an Honors social sciences seminar. Closed to students in the Class of 2018 and beyond.