Being and Becoming an Ex-Prisoner

Description

Despite broad scholarship documenting the compounding effects and self-reproducing character of incarceration, ways of conceptualising imprisonment and the post-prison experience have scarcely changed in over a century. Contemporary correctional thinking has congealed around notions of risk and management. This book aims to cast new light on men's experience of release from prison. Drawing on research conducted in Australia, it speaks to the challenges facing people leaving prison and seeking acceptance amongst the non-imprisoned around the world. Johns reveals the complexity of the post-prison experience, which is frequently masked by constructions of risk that individualise responsibility for reoffending and reimprisonment. This book highlights the important role of community in ex-prisoner integration, in providing opportunities for participation and acceptance. Johns shows that the process of becoming an 'ex'-prisoner is not simply one of individual choice or larger structural forces, but occurs in the spaces in between. Being and Becoming an Ex-Prisoner reveals the complex interplay between internal and external meanings and practices that causes men to feel neither locked up, nor wholly free. It will appeal to scholars and students interested in desistance, criminology, criminological or penological theory, sociology and qualitative research methods. Being and Becoming an Ex-Prisoner- Front Cover Being and Becoming an Ex-Prisoner Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Contents General editor’s introduction Acknowledgements Chapter 1: What’s the post-release problem? ‘Scott’ The conception of the study The study and its aims The research context The scope and setting of the research What does this book add to what we already know? Chapter outline Chapter 2: A catalogue of post-prison disadvantage ‘Tom’ Australia’s post-release landscape A catalogue of disadvantage Prison acculturation Conclusion Chapter 3: The post-release problem ‘Paul’ and ‘Rob’ Constructing the post-release problem Constructing the post-release subject Responses to the post-release problem Conclusion Chapter 4: Assemblage, culture, liminality ‘Matt’ and ‘Eddie’ Assemblage Culture Liminality Assemblage–culture–liminality: A synthesis Conclusion Chapter 5: Phenomenography ‘Wayne’ Philosophical orientation A phenomenographic approach Research questions Methods Ethical issues Access issues Conclusion Chapter 6: Lived experience of release ‘Nick’ Getting out Being out Staying out Conclusion Chapter 7: Post-release support perspectives ‘Ben’ Conceiving the subject Understanding prisoners’ release The post-release support role Conclusion Chapter 8: Home, identity, connection ‘John’ and ‘Glen’ Home Identity Connection Conclusion Chapter 9: Being and becoming ‘Dale’ The main findings The implications of the findings The strengths and limitations of the research Where to from here? In conclusion . . . References Index