Restorative justice is often touted as the humane and politically progressive alternative to the rigid philosophy of retributive punishment that underpins many of the world's judicial systems. Emotionally seductive, its rhetoric appeals to a desire for a "right-relation" among individuals and communities, an offers us a vision of justice that allows for the mutual healing of victim and offender, and with it, a sense of communal repair.

In Compulsory Compassion, Annalise Acorn, a one-time advocate for restorative justice, deconstructs the rhetoric of the restorative movement. Drawing...