Pale in Comparison: Therapeutic Jurisprudence, Criminal Justice, and the Decolonial Question

This paper examines two ways in which therapeutic jurisprudence appears pale in comparison. The first concerns its place in criminal justice thought. Despite being a part of the criminal justice landscape for over a quarter of a century, therapeutic jurisprudence still holds a marginal position in criminal justice/criminological thinking compared to other developments. Why is this so? And why should we care? The second concerns the decolonial question. To date, proponents, theorists, and practitioners have had curiously little to say about the relation between decolonisation and therapeutic jurisprudence. Is decolonisation of therapeutic jurisprudence possible? And, if it is, what might this look like?

The presentation will be followed by an audience-led Q&A.

Dr Amanda Wilson is a critical researcher of criminal law and justice, currently working as a Research Fellow at the University of Warwick. Within this field, her primary interest is alternative justice mechanisms and their relation to orthodox thinking and practices. On the level of theory, this has most recently taken her into the productive terrain of moral psychology and critical ethics. Empirically, her work examines reparative and therapeutic consciousness, and intersectional concerns.  She holds a PhD in Law (PhD Excellence Award) and a Bachelor of Social Science majoring in Criminology and Social Science and Policy with Honours (Class 1 and The University Medal) from the University of New South Wales. Before coming to Warwick, Amanda held positions as a researcher at the Law and Justice Foundation of New South Wales, and as a sessional lecturer and convenor at the University of New South Wales. She taught criminal law and therapeutic jurisprudence in the School of Law as well as criminology, social science and theory subjects in the School of Social Sciences. She sits on the Global Advisory Council for the International Society for Therapeutic Jurisprudence and co-developed the first dedicated course on Therapeutic Jurisprudence to be offered in Australia.