RT Article
T1 “Living with life”: Experiences of families of people serving a life sentence in Western Australia
JF Journal of criminology
VO 57
IS 2
SP 203
OP 220
A1 Tubex, Hilde
A2 Gately, Natalie
LA English
YR 2024
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1889833835
AB This paper contributes to the growing body of scholarship related to the impact of imprisonment on families, from the particular perspective of parents, siblings and other close relatives of people serving a life sentence. We argue that those family members are often overlooked in research and service provision, while bearing the burden of the association with the offender. This is particularly problematic for relatives of life sentenced prisoners, having to cope with the seriousness of the offence, and the uncertainty of the perspectives of release. Based on 17 interviews conducted in Western Australia, we discuss family members’ confrontation with and experiences throughout the criminal justice system. We report on how they manage to “live with life” and which coping mechanisms they developed. Our findings call for more investment into the matter, to generate a scholarship for a better understanding of and supporting initiatives for those close relatives.
K1 indeterminate sentences
K1 Parole
K1 Prison
K1 prisoners’ families
K1 Life Imprisonment
DO 10.1177/26338076231214554