One more "Last chance"

I think that even though this is a novel and the way the story is set, I feel that if this were to be a real life situation I would have to say Cole Matthews does not deserve another last chance. After all he's done even if he says that he has changed, he should go ot jail because he has tried to escape and he hasn't kept his promises. He has hurt someone and impacted their lives quite a bit and even if he has or has seemed to change, something like letting him go back to a place he just tried to escape in is not an acceptable answer. Cole has changed his behaviours and attitude after his experience in the island but, what's done is done, even though Cole said he'd be okay with jail and he sounds changed he should still be going to jail. If he didn't go to jail I find that to be way too unfair for Peter and his family. Like said in the novel, Cole can't take Peter's pain and permanant damage to him but he can still have severe consequences. To try to be fair the circle justice has decided that Cole has to pay off everything himself for food and sheltor at the island. This is quite a change that may be harder for Cole but I think that just sending Cole to jail would be better, he would probably change a lot and know the fears of being in jail and the fear of the consequences of his actions. I think that after seeing this "chance" that Peter probably wont be as satisfied as if Cole were to go to jail and others may see this as how easy it is to get chances themselves and that can create many conflicts.

Cole Mattews- Villain or Victim

I think that in some way Cole is a victim because of his parents yet i still find him to be a villain in some ways. I think that Cole is a victim because his father is abusive to him and his mother doesn't really care or look after him. His father always just gets drunk until he hits Cole and his mother just gets drunk and pretends nothing has happened. Cole trys to show his parents something like perhaps a school sport or something but his parents don't really attend or care about these things and when he once got them to come, when he lost his father made it sound like Cole lost on purpose. Cole hates his parents because they do not treat him like he is a family member.


Although all this has happened and I find Cole to be a victim I still also find him to be a villain. I think this way because even if Cole had been abused so much and his parents don't really care about him so much Cole shouldn't be bullying others and taking it on others. Cole should have found help instead of hitting people and just getting mad at the world. now he hates everyone, everything and wants everyone to fear him. He is in this current situation because of his past yet he is not creating a great future for himself. He is the one that attacked that bear even though he didn't have to. He could have just left the bear alone but he wanted the bear to fear him, that is why he is in such a situation and that is why I think he is a victim and a villain in some ways

Circle justice (native restorative justice)

In this archive the crime was that a man named Christopher Pauchay The Yellow band Quill member had been drunk last year and had sent his infant daughters outside on a deeply cold evening and left them to die while he struggled to reach his neighbor's house. The sentence for Pauchay was supposed to be in jail or sentencing circles, but the elders who were listening to Pauchay's feeling had decided that he had no culpability. The elders said that he had done nothing to be deserved to be apart from the innoecent. This process had took five hours, after the five hours of process he had been told he was innocent so it was very effective in his case but in my opinion i think it was not true justice. I think this because if you are irresponsible to end up doing such a thing as taking your infant daughters outside in the cold and leaving them to die, I feel that doing that in the first place is a crime and he should be punished. Normally I would say that circle justice is an effective means of justice because it can real change a person completely and probably have their lives go from a bad perspective to a very good perspectice. But after reading this archive/article i would have to say that not all of it is fair, because it is the elder's in the sentencing circle's fault that Pauchay gets to go free when he obviously comitted a severe crime, this somewhat makes me look down on their way of justice.

Another archive for circle justice

http://www.stephenfranks.co.nz/?p=1645

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2009/02/18/national-post-editorial-board-a-poor-verdict-for-sentencing-circles.aspx

Circle justice (peacemaking circles)

As in the novel this archive is talking about circle justices. And they explain in the archive just as in the novel that for you to be in circle justice you must be serious and you must want to change. Some people that have participated have even said that jail may have been easier than facing the people that you have hurt. If your in this circle of justice you must want to change for the people you may have harmed it wont be something that is easy. This is not something that is soft on crime or even a ticket out of jail, it is just as serious or perhaps even more serious than jail because as said in the novel, you go in jail angry and stay angry, but in circle justice you go with love if your serious. But in the novel they say even jail can be positive if you go in with a good heart.

Archive on touching spirit bear

http://sentencing.typepad.com/sentencing_law_and_policy/2007/04/restorative_jus.html