VICTIM-OFFENDER RECONCILIATION

San Francisco

Criminal justice is a topic my organization, Architects/Designers/Planners for Social Responsibility is engaged in (see www.adpsr.org/prisons), so I read the April 2 "Letters" column about Sunil Dutta's "Kill the Death Penalty" [Feb. 26] with great interest. Dutta says "victims' families can never forget the pain or overcome the loss" associated with crime, but the history of victim-offender reconciliation programs shows that many victims can indeed overcome their pain and suffering. Dutta argues for breaking the "vicious cycle of revenge," so it would follow that crime victims should be given the opportunity to get beyond the desire for revenge and, further, that the door should somehow be kept open for those who commit crimes to be transformed as well--making Dutta's support for life without parole seem inconsistent with his other argument.

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