Restorative justice is a concept and practice that was embraced and promoted by Chuck Colson of Prison Fellowship a couple of decades ago.  

The concept is simple:  The relationship between the offender and the offended needs to be restored.  And the offender needs to be restored back to society.  

I spent almost 20 years as a Prison Fellowship volunteer and I saw the human rot that's caused by the present system.  Many, if not most, offenders feel no responsibility to who they offended.  They see their job is to do the time or to get out of it through appeal.

Would it make a difference to have a thief face up to what he or she has done?  

I think that the concept deserves a look, a deeper one than being espoused in GR.  

It's biblical and it can work in some situations.

Call Doug Redford, the development director at Mel Trotter in GR.  He's the former Michigan director for PF.  He can give you specific details about how restorative justice is practiced in other states.

Everyone knows this is a technique used by those dealing with children who are so immature they don't even fully understand the words "sorry" or "honest."

It's kind of hard to believe that these fully grown individuals who've studied the law, don't understand legal issues and the difference between childish behavior and criminal behavior though. Honestly, that's sorry!

Making a suggestion like this is childish and they should tell the public "sorry" for suggestion, honest or otherwise...'cause that's how this game actually works.

Those masquerading as mature adults should be continually derided until out of office. They're hysterical! Either that or they should be on death row...the punishment doesn't need to fit the crime, honest!  

Nothing less than this change of heart will do.  Without it, the perpetrator is simply going through the motions of repentance and everyone in the room will know it - especially the victim.

How does one become humbled?  That varies, but most often a criminal mind equates to a "hard heart" in which the victim is seen as a non-person (a "thing" without feelings, family, etc.) - so it doesn't matter in the criminal's mind what he or she does to that "non-person."  How does such a criminal become humbled?  Their only chance is through the learning and personal growth that can come (if one is willing and makes the long-term effort) through suffering the consequences of their actions.

Now, having to apologize to the victim is a good consequence, but it should ONLY be the capstone event at the end of the sentence imposed by the judge for the crime.  

Part of restorative justice, as I understand it, is compensation for the victim by the perpetrator -- stolen goods returned, damage from vandalism repaired.  The key to the whole thing is that the victim has to agree for restorative justice to be applied.  It will be rare for a victim to agree to any of this without being made whole (and maybe a little more) first.

In other words, if a thief drives off with my car, he can avoid prison but only with my approval.  Along with an apology I'm going to insist that he return the car, and pay for any damage to my car or garage.  At a minimum.  I may insist on some extra payment or a contribution to charity as well.  In other words the perp will get to avoid jail, but he's going to have to make it worth my while.

I would add that in most criminal cases, the perpetrator is tried for "crimes against the state," which is horse-squat most of the time. The crimes are usually committed against individuals - the supposed focus of conservative and libertarian politics. Restorative Justice corrects this injustice, and gets justice for the victims; in the form of restitution, repentance, forgiveness and reconciliation. This is a biblical way of "restoring all things," which, in case anyone missed it in the scriptures, was the purpose of Jesus' coming.