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Restitution, Retribution, and the Constitution

NCJ Number
134601
Journal
Alaska Law Review Volume: 7 Issue: 2 Dated: (December 1990) Pages: 333-350
Author(s)
C R Pengilly
Date Published
1990
Length
18 pages
Annotation
To clarify the concept of restitution and how it works and to whom it applies, this article assesses the present state of the law of restitution in Alaska and identifies critical areas that need to be settled.
Abstract
At this time, Alaska's law of criminal restitution comprises two markedly opposed perceptions of what restitution is and should be which manifest themselves in numerous unresolvable conflicts among the cases, the statutes, and the legislative history. Trial courts operate without the benefit of a coherent body of law and consequently resolve restitution issues in inconsistent and idiosyncratic ways. A clear and definitive statement of what restitution is and what it should accomplish is needed, and, for policy reasons, the preferable course is for this statement to take the form of an analogy to civil damages. On this basis, it would be a fairly simple matter to generate procedural rules to compensate victims and rehabilitate offenders. 77 footnotes

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