Reviving Restorative Justice: A Blueprint for Texas

December 16, 2013

Derek M. Cohen, Ph.D.

Derek M. Cohen, Ph.D, is the Foundation’s Chief Research Officer and Right on Crime Senior Fellow. Previously the Vice President of Policy and Director of Right on Crime, the Foundation’s criminal justice reform initiative, Cohen was instrumental in the passage of the First Step Act, federal legislation that borrowed from successful changes to prisons and sentencing that he had helped pass in conservative states. In addition to leading the Foundation’s work on criminal justice, he is also the lead researcher of firearms policy.

Restorative justice programs offer a compelling alternative to the current state-centered model by putting victims first and allowing the offender to repair some of the harm they caused.

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