ABSTRACT
This chapter is based on a study that reviewed recidivism outcomes for adult men and women imprisoned in two Hawai‘i state prisons who participated in restorative justice re-entry circles prior to release. These men and women were tracked for at least three years after their release. Self-selection bias by choosing to have a circle was reduced by comparing recidivism outcomes of individuals who applied for and had a re-entry circle with those who applied for a circle, but did not have one. The chapter aims to contribute to the Handbook’s key objectives by presenting original research showing promising results with significantly lower recidivism for the 58 individuals in the experimental group that had circles compared to the 60 individuals in the control group who applied for a circle but did not have one.
