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A biblical case for compassion in the justice system
26 October 2012
A biblical case for compassion in the justice system
A new book by Victoria University theologian Dr Chris Marshall argues that two well-known biblical stories make a powerful case for a more compassionate justice system.
“They offer insights into the experience of victimisation and offending that are as pertinent today as ever,” he says.
Dr Marshall offers a fresh, interdisciplinary examination of the parables of the Prodigal Son and the Good Samaritan in the Gospel of Luke.
In the Prodigal Son, a wayward offender is welcomed home and reintegrated into the community with a public celebration, much to the disgust of his law-abiding older brother, while in the Good Samaritan a badly beaten crime victim is restored to his former self by a complete stranger.
In Compassionate Justice: an Interdisciplinary Dialogue with Two Gospel Parables of Law, Crime, and Restorative Justice, Dr Marshall traces how these stories have had a significant historical impact on Western civilisation. “They’ve profoundly shaped the spiritual, aesthetic, moral and legal traditions of Western society, from inspiring works of art to prompting research on altruism and helping behaviours.”
“But it is their account of the indispensable role of compassion in dealing with the restoration of both victims and offenders that offers a fresh challenge when it comes to thinking about our justice system.”
The book first examines each parable in detail from a criminal justice perspective, and then investigates how compassion can be better embedded in the institutions of modern society, especially the justice system.
“In both parables, the central characters are moved to act with compassion at the suffering they’ve witnessed, and thereby achieve justice. Justice and mercy are not arranged in opposition to each other, they are mutually dependent,” says Dr Marshall.
“Both stories evidently regard restorative responses grounded in compassion to be a thoroughly realistic way of dealing with the needs of victims and offenders.”
Prominent theologians and legal scholars from around the world have praised Compassionate Justice, which was released in the United States in August, as an outstanding analysis of the place of compassion in criminal justice and as an especially important contribution to restorative justice literature.
ends
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