Acceso usuarios
Daniel S. Mcconkie
The United States has a lot to learn from Kenya about criminal justice. For centuries, Kenya has addressed crime through African customary law, which focuses not on guilt and punishment, but restoring social harmony. African customary law is similar to what Americans call restorative justice. British Colonialists superimposed their criminal justice system, and these two radically different kinds of systems have co-existed in Kenya ever since. In 2020, Kenya adopted a national policy to promote the use of customary law courts more often in criminal cases. That model could inspire many American reformers who seek to shrink the carceral state through the increased use of restorative justice. As America seeks to expand its use of restorative justice, it can learn a few lessons from Kenya. First, multi-door justice (permitting a multiplicity of criminal justice systems, each with different aims and procedures, to co-exist) is appropriate and necessary for large, diverse countries like the United States and Kenya. Second, multi-door justice needs to be established as a state-level policy, albeit one allowing for significant local variation. Third, restorative justice can and should espouse a transformative vision for creating a more just, equal, and democratic society.
