2012 Winner of the Outstanding Book Award presented by the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences


Outstanding Academic Title from 2011 by Choice Magazine

Too often, the criminal justice system silences victims, which leaves them frustrated, angry, and with many unanswered questions. Despite their rage and pain, many victims want the opportunity to confront their offenders and find resolution. After the Crime explores a victim-offender dialogue program that offers victims of severe violence an opportunity to meet face-to-face with their incarcerated offenders. Using rich in-depth interview data, the book follows the harrowing stories of crimes of stranger rape, domestic violence, marital rape, incest, child sexual abuse, murder, and drunk driving, ultimately moving beyond story-telling to provide an accessible scholarly analysis of restorative justice.

Susan Miller argues that the program has significantly helped the victims who chose to face their offenders in very concrete, transformative ways. Likewise, the offenders have also experienced positive changes in their lives in terms of creating greater accountability and greater victim empathy. After the Crime explores their transformative experiences with restorative justice, vividly illustrating how one program has worked in conjunction with the criminal justice system in order to strengthen victim empowerment.

Leigh Goodmark is Marjorie Cook Professor of Law at the University of Maryland Carey School of Law. She is the author of many books including
Decriminalizing Domestic Violence: A Balanced Policy Approach to Intimate Partner Violence, A Troubled Marriage: Domestic Violence and the Legal System, and Imperfect Victims: Criminalized Survivors and the Promise of Abolition Feminism. She is also the editor of Comparative Perspectives on Gender Violence: Lessons from Efforts Worldwide.