Parallel Justice for Victims of
Crime a new book by Susan Herman, former executive director of the
National Center for Victims of Crime, envisions a parallel, dual-path to
justice--requiring society to help repair the harm done to victims while holding
offenders accountable for their crimes. This approach would revolutionize our
justice system by establishing and funding an official set of responses to
victims of crime.
"We are so proud to publish Parallel Justice for
Victims of Crime," said Jeff Dion, acting executive director of the
National Center for Victims of Crime. "Susan convincingly sets forth a vision of
justice that reflects our best hopes for victims and our nation's
highest ideals."
Order your own copy of Parallel Justice
for Victims of Crime and learn more about this
visionary approach to justice for crime victims.
National Center's News
Release.
The Parallel Justice Project was
established originally by the National Center for Victims of Crime to advance a
new vision of justice for victims of crime. The concept of parallel
justice informs all of the National Center's work in helping victims
rebuild their lives.
Parallel Justice elevates the
goal of helping victims rebuild their lives to a fundamental component of
justice. Parallel Justice requires us to decouple the pursuit of justice for
victims from the administration of justice for offenders. Under a system of
Parallel Justice the societal message to victims would be, "What happened to you
is wrong and we will help you rebuild your life."
Parallel Justice Framework
Parallel Justice requires society
not only to hold offenders accountable for the harms they have caused, but also
to honor a separate social obligation to repair the harm caused by crime. Learn
more about this vision of justice for crime
victims.
Parallel Justice in Practice
The National Center worked with
three communities to test the feasibility of the Parallel Justice concept as a
new paradigm for society's response to crime. Learn
more about the work of these communities and
guidelines for implementing Parallel Justice in your
community.
Making the Argument for Parallel Justice in your Community
Parallel Justice requires that we
change the way we think and talk about justice for crime victims. Learn
more about what you can do to make a convincing case
for pursuing Parallel Justice in your community.