Revisiting the Real Story of Restorative Justice in the Criminal Justice System: 20 Years On

The rapid growth of restorative justice (RJ) has brought myths into the literature. K. Daly's "Restorative Justice: The Real Story" (Punishment and Society 4(1), 55-79, 2002) is among the most important demythologization attempts in the literature. This article revisits the four myths that were discussed in this seminal article: (1) RJ is an oppositional concept to retributive justice; (2) RJ is rooted in Indigenous justice and the past dominant form of justice; (3) RJ is a care response as opposed to a justice response; and (4) RJ has the potential to transform people. This article first examines whether these four myths remain pervasive in the post-2002 RJ literature. Reviewing the post-2002 literature suggests that demythologization has almost taken place. The article then seeks to highlight theoretical gaps in the post-2002 RJ. Corresponding to the four myths identified, it offers four areas of RJ that warrant further debate and research: (1) institutionalization of RJ, (2) decolonization of RJ, (3) the role of masculinity in RJ, and (4) how RJ works. En raison de la croissance rapide de la justice reparatrice (JR), les publications ont diffuse des mythes sur le sujet. L'article de K. Daly, intitule Restorative Justice: The Real Story (Punishment and Society 4(1), 55-79, 2002) fait partie des plus importantes tentatives de demythologisation publiees. Le present article porte un regard sur les quatre mythes abordes dans cette parution fondamentale : 1) la JR est un concept qui s'oppose a la justice retributive; 2) la JR est ancree dans la justice autochtone et dans une forme de justice qui etait dominante par le passe; 3) la JR est une reponse reposant sur les soins plutot que sur les sanctions et 4) la JR a le potentiel de transformer les individus. Le present article evalue d'abord si ces quatre mythes demeurent omnipresents dans les publications sur la JR diffusees apres 2002. En reponse aux quatre mythes enonces, il propose quatre secteurs de la JR qui devraient faire l'objet de debats et de recherches plus pousses : 1) l'institutionnalisation de la JR, 2) la decolonisation de la JR, 3) le role de la masculinite dans la JR et 4) le mode de fonctionnement de la JR.