Only One Way To Swim? The Offence And The Life Course In Accounts Of Adaptation To Life Imprisonment

Recent studies of long-term imprisonment describe a largely invariant pattern of prisoner adaptation. Using data from a qualitative study of men serving life sentences in England, I argue that adaptation may in fact vary more than these studies imply both because of the prisoner’s age when sentenced...

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Bibliographische Detailangaben
1. VerfasserIn: Jarman, Benjamin T. (VerfasserIn)
Medienart: Elektronisch Aufsatz
Sprache:Englisch
Veröffentlicht: 2020
In: The British journal of criminology
Jahr: 2020, Band: 60, Heft: 6, Seiten: 1460-1479
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Schlagwörter:
Long-term imprisonment
Indefinite imprisonment
Life imprisonment
Re-habilitation
Moral reflection
Murder
Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:Recent studies of long-term imprisonment describe a largely invariant pattern of prisoner adaptation. Using data from a qualitative study of men serving life sentences in England, I argue that adaptation may in fact vary more than these studies imply both because of the prisoner’s age when sentenced and because of the circumstances of particular offences. Participants’ engagement with the prison’s rehabilitative ‘offer’ depended on how the sentence affected their life course and what they understood to be the moral ramifications of the offence. These findings refine understanding of adaptation and suggest that a renewed focus on moral reflexivity may bear fruit in future prison research.
ISSN:1464-3529
DOI:10.1093/bjc/azaa036