Criminal Justice Restorative Program in After the Crime by Susan L. Miller

Student’s Name
Instructor’s Name
Course
Date
Summary of After the Crime by Susan L. Miller
The non-fiction book by Susan Miller is about a criminal justice restorative program aimed to benefit both victims and offenders. The text highlights different perspectives on crime and punishment and reveals the potential power of storytelling as a recovering and reforming process. According to Miller, the criminal justice system often pays too much attention to offenders and neglects the needs of victims, who are left angry and frustrated with many questions (Miller 20). Despite the rage or pain caused. It is deemed that those wronged deserve a chance to confront offenders to seek resolutions. Integrating data interviews, Miller’s book explores a victim-offender conversation approach whereby victimized individuals meet one-on-one with incarcerated criminals. The author follows up stories of crimes, including rape, domestic violence, incest, child abuse, murder or drinking, and disorder.
Conceptual Issues and Themes
A central concept derived from Miller’s text is storytelling and its ability to influence change. Narratives make people perceive the world from a different viewpoint and provide an opportunity to learn from one another while shaping, strengthening, and challenging values. In the storytelling process, individuals catch a glimpse of views of the world that could be different from their own. The book intends to inform that when one understands a story that he is part of and the role to play, it becomes easier to heal past wounds and focus on the present (Miller 159). Such context applies to offenders and victims in a restorative justice program where emotionally gripping stories are qualitatively relevant to healing and justice.
Miller’s book conveys the theme of restorative justice theory, which emphasizes repairing the harm caused by criminal conduct. The m...