What can the U.S. Justice system learn from other countries and cultures? No matter your politics, there is a consensus in this country that the justice system in the U.S. is deeply flawed. We have the highest incarceration rate in the world and high recidivism rates as well.

The Yurok Tribal Court is within the borders of the U.S., but as part of the sovereign Yurok Nation it made sense to include it in this collection of justice solutions from other countries and cultures. More tribal judges are incorporating cultural traditions in a way that focuses on repairing the harm done and now this restorative justice idea is being adopted by some U.S. jurisdictions. 

In Portugal, the country was gripped by an opioid and heroin epidemic following the end of a long dictatorship and finally decriminalized drugs in 2001. As a result problematic drug use has plummeted, as have rates of HIV and Hepatitis C. Are there lessons for the U.S. as we struggle with a growing opioid epidemic?

Finland once had the one of the highest incarceration rates in Europe, but when researchers in the 1960s determined that didn't really reduce crime. It now has one of the lowest incarceration rates and yet crime did not increase. One large factor was the use of open prisons where people could adjust back to normal life. In Norway, the official slogan of the country's correction service is “Better out than in” and it offers a reintegration guarantee to all released inmates. At Halden Prison, there is still a large wall surrounding the complex, but inside is a place designed to foster relationships among inmates and guards and an atmosphere that has earned the place the label of the most human maximum security prison. 

More officials in the U.S. have in recent years begun to explore how Europe's incarceration practices differ from our own and if there is anything we can learn from or adopt. Many countries focus much more on reintegrating inmates back into society upon release rather than focusing on continuing punitive measures such as restricting voting or putting bans on certain kinds of employment and housing. Why does the U.S. make it so much more difficult for people to reintegrate when most people will be coming out of prison at some point to live in our communities? What can we learn from other examples?