Restorative justice presents a compelling paradigm shift in the realm of justice, emphasizing voluntary dialogue between the harmed and the harmer. This article explores the significance of restorative justice in the context of prisoner parole, highlighting its potential to foster meaningful rehabilitation and reintegration. Through an examination of its principles, methods, a case study, and international examples, this piece elucidates the role of restorative practices in promoting holistic justice.

Defining Restorative Justice: Restorative justice embodies a voluntary process wherein trained facilitators assist victims and offenders in addressing the harm caused by a crime. It encourages open dialogue, accountability, and healing, recognizing the importance of involving all stakeholders in resolving conflicts and mitigating their consequences. This approach seeks to empower individuals to take responsibility for their actions and actively participate in restoring relationships and communities.

Importance of Restorative Justice: Restorative justice serves as an alternative to punitive measures, prioritizing reconciliation, and healing over punishment. By engaging victims, offenders, and communities in the justice process, restorative practices promote empathy, understanding, and accountability. Unlike traditional justice systems, which often focus solely on legal outcomes, restorative justice aims to address the underlying causes of crime and restore dignity to those affected.

While the restorative justice is an alternative justice advocated as an alternative as well as an additional alternative to the existing justice system, its applications are wider and can be applied in many other processes. The restorative justice is applied through its various practices called restorative justice practices. These practices range from being fully restorative (those who include all stakeholders) to partially restorative (which do not necessarily all stakeholders.

There are at least four critical ingredients for a fully restorative process to achieve its objectives: (a) an identifiable victim; (b) voluntary participation by the victim; (c) an offender who accepts responsibility for his/her criminal behavior; and (d) non-coerced participation of the offender. Most restorative approaches strive to achieve a specific interactive dynamic among the parties involved. The goal is to create a non- adversarial, non-threatening environment in which the interests and needs of the victim, the offender, the community, and society can be addressed.

Some Restorative Justice Practices:

• Victim-Offender Mediation: Facilitated communication between victims and offenders to discuss the impact of the crime and explore ways to repair harm.
• Restorative Conferences: Structured gatherings involving all affected parties to address the harm caused by the offense and work towards resolution.
• Circle Processes: Inclusive forums inspired by Indigenous traditions, fostering dialogue and healing among participants.
• Family Group Conferences: Involving the extended family and significant individuals in the offender's life to provide support and guidance in the resolution process.

Understanding Parole:
Parole is a conditional release granted to prisoners before the completion of their sentence, allowing them to serve the remainder of their term in the community under supervision. It aims to facilitate the prisoner's reintegration into society by providing opportunities for employment, education, and community engagement.

Parole decisions are typically based on factors such as good behavior, participation in rehabilitation programs, and the assessment of risk to public safety. Parole is not only sort of relief that a convict earns during incarceration but is an important process of rehabilitation and resettlement back in society after release from prison, whose aim is to reform and rehabilitate offenders. Therefore, it serves as an important tool for the prison system for reformation and rehabilitation.

A tool for the prisoner's social rehabilitation, the word parole is derived from the French phrase "je donne ma parole", which means "I give my word," and its dictionary definition is "word of honour". Treatment in the form of monitoring, direction, and help is ideal for parole.

The Jammu and Kashmir suspension of sentence rules, Model Prison Manual, India Jammu and Kashmir Prison Manual 2022 describe Parole and furlough to inmates as progressive, measures of correctional services. The release of a prisoner on parole not only saves him from the evils of incarceration but also enables him to maintain social relations with his family and the community. It also helps him maintain and develop a sense of self-confidence. Continued contacts with family and the community sustain in him a hope for life.

The release of prisoner on furlough motivates him to maintain good conduct and remain disciplined in the prison. It is a form of suspension of sentence covered under the provisions of 432(5) Cr.P.C. 1973 to enable the inmates to maintain continuity with his family life and deal with familial and societal matters, save him from the evil effects of continuous long prison life, enable him to maintain and develop his self-confidence, enable him to develop constructive hope and active interest in life, help him remain in touch with the developments in the outside world, help remain physiologically healthy, enable him to overcome/secure from the stress and evil effects of incarceration; and motivate him to maintain good conduct and discipline in the prison.

Restorative Justice and Prisoner Parole:
Illustrating the application of restorative justice principles in prisoner parole, we examine the case of Khurshid Ahmad in Jammu and Kashmir. Ahmad, serving a life sentence, applied for parole under the Jammu and Kashmir Suspension of Sentence Rules, 2020. Despite meeting eligibility criteria based on behavior and sentence served, and being released on parole four times previously, his parole was denied due to objections from the victim's family. This highlights the need to consider victim perspectives in the parole process, as mandated by local rules.

The Jammu and Kashmir Suspension of Sentence Rules, 2020, section 13(xv) requires the jail superintendent to forward parole applications to relevant authorities, including the police station where the FIR was registered and the investigating agency. Additionally, section 13(xvi) stipulates that parole decisions should be based on a fair inquiry, reflecting the emphasis on procedural fairness and victim input.

Importance of Restorative Parole:
Restorative parole holds significant importance in the criminal justice system, particularly concerning the involvement of victims in parole decisions. While traditional parole processes primarily focus on the behavior and rehabilitation progress of the offender, restorative parole recognizes the essential role of victims in the resolution and healing process. By engaging victims in parole decisions, it acknowledges their rights and concerns, fostering a sense of empowerment and justice. However, the implementation of restorative parole can be complex, requiring careful consideration of various factors, including victim safety, offender accountability, and community reintegration.

Moreover, restorative parole can extend beyond the immediate release decision, and can play a crucial role in the final rehabilitation of the offender upon their eventual release from prison. By facilitating dialogue, reconciliation, and accountability between victims and offenders, restorative parole can set the foundation for positive community relations and long-term rehabilitation efforts. Thus, integrating restorative principles into parole processes not only can promote fairness and inclusivity but can also contribute to safer and more cohesive communities in the aftermath of crime.

International Examples:
everal jurisdictions have integrated restorative justice principles into their parole systems. In Canada, for instance, restorative parole programs aim to restore trust and confidence between victims and offenders. The Restorative Parole project, pioneered by the John Howard Society of Manitoba, emphasizes victim participation and offender accountability, aligning with restorative justice principles.

Similarly, countries like New Zealand and Australia have implemented restorative justice initiatives in parole decision-making, emphasizing victim participation and offender accountability.

Conclusion:
Restorative justice offers a transformative approach to addressing crime and conflict, emphasizing dialogue, accountability, and healing. In the context of prisoner parole, restorative practices provide opportunities for meaningful rehabilitation and reintegration by involving all stakeholders in the process. As jurisdictions continue to explore innovative approaches to justice, restorative principles stand as invaluable tools for building safer, more resilient communities.

References:

1. https://blog.ipleaders.in/parole-india-laws-related/
2. https://www.iirp.edu/news/restorative-parole
3. https://www.unodc.org/pdf/criminal_justice/Handbook_on_Restorative_Justice_Programmes.pdf
4. https://www.unodc.org/pdf/criminal_justice/Handbook_on_Restorative_Justice_Programmes.pdf
5. Prison Manual for Superintendence and Management of Prison in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir 2022
6. https://www.mha.gov.in/sites/default/files/PrisonManual2016.pdf
7. https://www.indiacode.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/15272/1/the_code_of_criminal_procedure%2C_1973.pdf
8. https://rm.coe.int/16806f9905