Re-storying as Restoring: Exploring the Potential of Creative Narratives in Advancing Knowledge about Restorative Justice

Promoting the principles of restorative justice requires a departure from conventional narratives of how serious crime is dealt with. The dominant understanding of crime and punishment is often derived from narrow media representations that focus primarily on the details of the crime and the processes within the criminal justice system. These representations tend to follow common narrative scenarios and often inspire calls for tougher crime policies to ensure safety, restore legal order and satisfy society's impulses towards retribution. However, they rarely address issues such as the impact of imprisonment, the experiences and needs of victims or their families, or the nuanced emotions of those responsible for sentencing. As a result, while crime reports, podcasts and television shows regularly examine and sensationalize the crime itself, or reveal the shortcomings of the legal process, they often overlook restorative approaches. But what if attempts were made to 're-story' crime from a multifaceted, nuanced and realistic understanding of events? By broadening the landscape of representation, can a clichéd and overly restrictive perspective on crime and justice be avoided? Can we move beyond black and white discussions and address common misconceptions about retribution and the legal system through improved storytelling and richer narratives? This essay explores these questions. Drawing on the author's experience as a juror in a murder trial and several examples of more complex and inclusive storytelling efforts, it reflects on what such re-storying could look like and considers its implications for journalism, fiction and non-fiction.