Such a change would eliminate retribution but would include other traditional aims of the criminal justice system including denunciation, crime prevention, disincentives to crime, and containment. In addition, with restoration as the main goal, the amount of compensation and the duration of restriction of detention would be more logically based than before, but would retain a degree of arbitrariness. The author also argues that the criminal justice system does not always need to use coercion and that procedures based on consent have advantages. The analysis considers the problems involved in conventional sentencing and examines community service, victim-offender mediation, and other recent approaches to restorative justice. The text outlines a possible system of restorative and participatory justice, in which victims would have the chance to meet and express feelings to offenders and offenders might make direct amends to victims and considers issues related to using this approach for the most serious offenders. Index and 329 references