Show Notes
Episode 145. Restitution: A Just Approach to Addressing Crime (with Mary Ruwart)
Dr. Mary Ruwart discusses the concept of restitution as a way to address crime. Restitution involves the offender making amends to the victim by compensating them for the harm caused. This approach focuses on restoring the victim and balancing the non-aggression principle of not initiating force, fraud, or theft. Restitution has been shown to reduce recidivism rates and provide true rehabilitation. The current criminal justice system often neglects the needs of the victim and fails to make them whole. Restitution shifts the focus back to the victim and allows for a more just and effective approach to addressing crime.
In this conversation, Dr. Mary Ruwart discusses the concept of restitution as a superior form of justice compared to retributive and rehabilitative justice. She explains how restitution focuses on restoring the victim to their pre-crime position and avoids double punishment. Dr. Ruwart also discusses the potential for a private prison system based on restitution, where offenders would be trained to work off their restitution and negotiate with victims and law enforcement. She addresses concerns about the prison system becoming exploitative and highlights the importance of reviews and choice in the system. The conversation also touches on the deterrent effect of restitution, the problems with the current criminal justice system, and the historical examples of successful private justice systems.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Dr. Mary Ruwart
03:30 The Importance of Restitution
06:30 Understanding Restitution and its Benefits
11:42 The Role of Restitution in Rehabilitation
17:28 The Flaws of the Current Criminal Justice System
19:36 Restitution as an Ancient Concept
25:14 Determining Punishment and Repayment
29:54 The Role of Juries in a Restitution System
34:10 Restitution: Focusing on Restoring the Victim
35:45 A Private Prison System Based on Restitution
38:47 Preventing Exploitation: Reviews and Choice
45:23 The Deterrent Effect of Restitution
48:27 Problems with the Current Criminal Justice System
56:19 Historical Examples: Successful Private Justice Systems
Takeaways
- Restitution is a concept that involves the offender making amends to the victim by compensating them for the harm caused.
- Restitution focuses on restoring the victim and balancing the non-aggression principle of not initiating force, fraud, or theft.
- Restitution has been shown to reduce recidivism rates and provide true rehabilitation.
- The current criminal justice system often neglects the needs of the victim and fails to make them whole.
- Restitution shifts the focus back to the victim and allows for a more just and effective approach to addressing crime. Restitution focuses on restoring the victim to their pre-crime position and avoids double punishment.
- A private prison system based on restitution could involve training offenders to work off their restitution and negotiate with victims and law enforcement.
- Reviews and choice would be important in a private prison system to prevent exploitation.
- Restitution has a deterrent effect, especially when combined with the cost of apprehension.
- The current criminal justice system, including civil asset forfeiture, is problematic and often violates property and personal rights.
- Historical examples, such as the Wild West, demonstrate the success of private justice systems.
Sound Bites
- “Restitution is that answer and I think it really changes the whole dynamics of the system that we have in place.”
- “Restitution truly lets the criminal know what they’ve actually done.”
- “Restitution provides a better system than what we have now where we throw them in a prison where they possibly could beat up or have to really beat up other people to stay safe.”
- “Big strides have been made in educating the public about the importance of judging the law as well as the guilt or innocence of the offender.”
- “Restitution focuses on the victim and restoring their position prior to the harm of the crime.”
- “A private prison system would involve training offenders to work off their restitution and negotiate with victims and law enforcement.”
Resources
Mary Ruwart
https://ruwart.com/restitution
https://x.com/MaryRuwart (@MaryRuwart)
https://www.facebook.com/maryjruwart/ (@maryjruwart)
https://www.instagram.com/maryjruwart/ (@maryjruwart)
Short Answers to the Tough Questions
Healing Our World
https://ruwart.com/product/healing-our-world
Ch. 13: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJvXnBntmu4
Chapter 13 w refs (Healing Our World)
Death by Regulation
PRIDE
https://oppaga.fl.gov/ProgramSummary/ProgramDetail?programNumber=1037
Liberty International
https://liberty-intl.org/satq/
Tom Woods Episodes with Mary Ruwart
https://tomwoods.com/ep-2453-short-answers-to-tough-questions-for-libertarians/
Short Answers to Tough Questions for Libertarians – YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9s8OQF–o_Q
Retribution
https://judex.substack.com/p/retributive-justice-9af
Mises Institute
https://mises.org/mises-wire/rothbard-and-double-restitution
https://mises.org/journal-libertarian-studies/retribution-and-restitution-synthesis
https://cdn.mises.org/6_2_1_0.pdf
https://mises.org/mises-daily/not-so-wild-wild-west
YT: @misesmedia
X: @mises
Insta: @misesinstitute
FB: @mises.institute
States of Incarceration: The Global Context 2024 | Prison Policy Initiative
https://www.prisonpolicy.org/global/2024.html
Insta: @prisonpolicy
X: @PrisonPolicy
FB: @PrisonPolicyInitiative
Institute for Justice – Policing for Profit
https://ij.org/report/policing-for-profit-3/
FB: @instituteforjustice
X: @IJ
YouTube: @InstituteForJustice
Insta: @instituteforjustice
Keywords
restitution, crime, victim, offender, rehabilitation, non-aggression principle, criminal justice system, restitution, justice, private prison system, victim restoration, criminal justice system, deterrent effect, civil asset forfeiture, Wild West
#crime
#restitution
#retribution
#rehabilitation
#oppression
#freedom
#naturalrights
#anarchy
#liberty
#fullyinformedjuries
#jurynullification
#civilassetforfeiture
#InstituteForJustice
#propertyrights
#Rothbard
#Mises
#libertarian
#libertarianism
#ForgeofFreedom
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