Second chances are often talked about as if they’re granted by the legal system or society at large. In reality, the most important second chance happens internally, in the mind. Whether someone truly changes after a major mistake depends less on the outcome of a court case and more on how they process accountability, fear, shame, and hope.
Criminal lawyers see this transformation up close. Working with people at some of the most vulnerable moments of their lives gives them a unique window into human behaviour, resilience, and change. To understand why some people repeat destructive patterns while others genuinely turn things around, we spoke with three criminal defence lawyers whose daily work sits at the crossroads of psychology and consequence.
In Brampton, Rupin Bal, a criminal lawyer with Rupin Bal Professional Corporation often meets clients whose nervous systems are overwhelmed long before they ever step into a courtroom.
“Fear is usually the first emotion,” Bal explains. “Fear of jail, fear of judgment, fear of disappointing family. But fear alone doesn’t create change.”
From a psychological perspective, extreme fear activates the brain’s threat system. While this can prompt short-term compliance, it often blocks reflection and learning. Bal notes that clients who stay stuck in panic mode tend to focus only on escaping consequences, not on understanding their behaviour.
“The clients who actually change are the ones who move past fear and into responsibility,” he says. “That’s where growth starts.”
This aligns with research showing that sustainable change happens when the brain shifts from survival mode to reflective processing, when the prefrontal cortex regains control from the amygdala.
In Toronto, Ahmad Karzai of Karzai Criminal Lawyers sees a clear distinction between shame and accountability, and how each affects a person’s future.
“Shame tells someone ‘you are bad,’” Karzai explains. “Accountability says ‘you did something bad, and you can address it.’ Those are very different messages.”
Clients consumed by shame often withdraw, avoid support, and repeat harmful patterns. Neuroscience backs this up: shame activates stress responses that reduce problem-solving capacity and increase avoidance.
Karzai observes that people who are given space to take responsibility without being reduced to their worst act are far more likely to rebuild their lives.
“When clients feel humanized, they engage,” he says. “They start asking better questions, not just about the case, but about their choices.”
This mental shift is often the foundation of a genuine second chance.
How someone sees themselves after a criminal charge can be more influential than the charge itself. Akash Dhillon of A. Dhillon Law Professional Corporation located in Brampton, frequently works with clients struggling to reconcile their actions with their identity.
“Many people think, ‘If this happened, this must be who I am,’” Dhillon says. “That belief is dangerous.”
Psychologically, identity-based thinking locks behaviour into place. If someone believes they are fundamentally flawed, the brain stops searching for alternatives. Dhillon explains that meaningful change begins when clients separate their identity from their actions.
“When people understand that behaviour is learned, and can be unlearned, they regain agency,” he says.
This reframing helps clients move from self-condemnation to self-awareness, which is critical for long-term behavioural change.
All three lawyers agree that repeated offences are rarely about a lack of intelligence or understanding of consequences. More often, they stem from unresolved emotional patterns.
“People don’t repeat mistakes because they don’t know better,” Bal notes. “They repeat them because they haven’t learned how to cope differently.”
Stress, trauma, addiction, and unaddressed mental health issues can keep the brain locked into familiar loops, even when those loops are destructive. Karzai adds that without support, people revert to what feels known, not what is healthy.
“The brain prioritizes familiarity over well-being,” he says. “Change feels unsafe at first.”
Dhillon emphasizes that external consequences alone rarely rewire these patterns.
“Punishment might stop behaviour temporarily,” he says. “But insight is what changes it permanently.”
Across their practices, these lawyers see consistent factors that support genuine second chances:
1. Emotional Safety
People need to feel safe enough to reflect honestly. Chronic fear shuts down learning.
2. Accountability Without Dehumanization
Owning mistakes works best when it doesn’t erase dignity.
3. Identity Separation
Understanding that actions are not the same as self-worth creates room for growth.
4. Support Systems
Family, counseling, community programs, and structure all reinforce new neural pathways.
5. Time and Patience
Lasting change is gradual, not instant.
“These are psychological processes, not legal ones,” Karzai says. “But they’re often more important than the legal outcome.”
The justice system may provide formal opportunities, diversion programs, reduced sentences, or clean records, but the internal work determines whether those opportunities matter.
Second chances are not about forgetting the past. They’re about learning from it, and teaching the brain that a different future is possible.
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