Perrin: My faith led me away from ‘tough on crime’
Post #545 1000 words; 5 minutes to read By Benjamin Perrin. Benjamin Perrin is a law professor at the University of British Columbia and the author of the bestselling book, Indictment: The Criminal Justice System on Trial, (see earlier...
Read MorePrisons around the world
Post #167 650 words; 3 minutes to read Dr Baz Dreisinger is a professor of writing at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. In this work she has been very involved in programs that teach...
Read MoreWhat is ‘closure’ in criminal justice?
850 words; 4 minutes to read ‘Providing closure’ is one of the comments we often hear in media coverage of verdicts and sentences in criminal cases. The suggestion is that a harsh sentence provides victims of crime, or family members...
Read MoreRestorative justice and sexual assault – Marlee Liss story
580 words; 3 minutes to read One of the most contentious areas in criminal justice discussion is around sexual assault. Clearly there are very significant issues here around sexual encounters, and consent. These are difficult for the criminal justice system...
Read MoreBeyond Incarceration
950 words; 4 minutes to read Paula Mallea has had a long and distinguished career as a criminal defense lawyer and public policy advocate. Having worked extensively with prisoners, and with Indigenous people in the justice system, she became a...
Read MorePosts worth a second look
600 words; 3 minutes to read. The introductory post for this blog was in early September of 2017, just over two years ago. Since then we have posted well over 100 items on various aspects of criminal justice. Many...
Read MoreSawbonna: Victim Impact Statement 41 Years Later
This post is about 700 words and can be read in 3 minutes. Margot Van Sluytman is a well known Canadian advocate for restorative justice, based on her experience following the murder of her father. She recently posted this moving...
Read MoreI Am More Than a Criminal Record
This post is about 800 words and can be read in 3-4 minutes. Although most people think that the court sentence is the hardest part of being convicted of a crime, for many of the millions of Canadians who have...
Read MoreA Christian view on criminal justice
This post is 800 words and can be read in about 3 minutes. Churches have long been among the leaders in criminal justice reform efforts in Canada. Recently, criminal law professor Benjamin Perrin gave a talk in his personal capacity...
Read MoreBenefits of Restorative Justice
This post is about 900 words and can be read in 4-5 minutes. Restorative justice (RJ) is one of those approaches often advocated yet not often used. Despite its seeming advantages and the efforts of some advocates such as Margot...
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