ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that the full realisation of social rehabilitation requires a fundamental change in the values that inform the policy and practice of sentencing. More specifically, it argues that sentencing policy should be underpinned by ‘core’ values of social justice that citizens share because they are perceived to promote the common good. Embracing values of social justice holds the potential to infuse the norms and ethics of sentencing with a shared social purpose of strengthening communal bonds and social cohesion. Recognising the state’s moral duty to promote social justice is seen as a crucial first step towards ensuring that social values are embedded in sentencing policy. Accordingly, the political rhetoric of mainstreaming alternative forms of penal intervention, particularly restorative justice, is more likely to be realised when outcomes are decided within an ideological and structural space that takes account of social value. Reconceiving the norms, ethics and practices of sentencing with the integration of social justice values of equality, diversity and inclusivity would provide judges and magistrates with the moral authority and necessary discretionary power to fully pursue the socially rehabilitative goal of penal intervention. Accordingly, the positive benefits for social cohesion of promoting empathy, building communication structures and enhancing trust would enhance sentencing’s moral credibility and legitimacy over time.
