RT Article
T1 “I made the change for me”: Theorizing Desistance for Life Sentenced Youth
JF Criminology & criminal justice
VO 24
IS 5
SP 974
OP 990
A1 Abrams, Laura S.
LA English
YR 2024
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1907407219
AB Building on the work of Professor Joanna Shapland, this exploratory, phenomenological study theorizes contexts that ground desistance for people sentenced to life in prison for crimes committed as youth. The investigation draws from 28 interviews conducted with 10 formerly incarcerated youth lifers, all male, who were imprisoned for an average of 27 years in California. The major themes are presented along three phases in the desistance journey: life in prison as a barrier to desistance, the will to change, and policy changes and the process of parole. The analysis finds that despite a harsh and violent prison environment, all located sources of support (i.e. spiritual, family, and peers) that facilitated desistance and hope to create a meaningful life inside of prison. While the work of desistance was ultimately externally validated by a parole board, all participants asserted agency to take behavioral and attitudinal steps toward desistance long before they had hope for freedom.
K1 Parole
K1 Life sentences
K1 JLWOP
K1 Hope
K1 Desistance
K1 Agency
DO 10.1177/17488958241270784