Being and becoming an ex-prisoner / Diana F. Johns.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Johns, Diana F., author.

Series:

International series on desistance and rehabilitation ; 11.

International series on desistance and rehabilitation ; 11

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Prisoners--Australia.

Prisoners.

Prisoners--Deinstitutionalization.

Ex-convicts--Australia.

Ex-convicts.

Australia.

Physical Description:

xiii, 235 pages ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

London ; New York : Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2018.

Summary:

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. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 What's the post-release problem? 1

'Scott' 1

The conception of the study 4

The study and its aims 5

The research context 7

The scope and setting of the research 10

What does this book add to what we already know? 10

Chapter outline 11

2 A catalogue of post-prison disadvantage 13

'Tom' 13

Australia's post-release landscape 14

A catalogue of disadvantage 16

Prison acculturation 29

Conclusion 34

3 The post-release problem 37

'Paul' and 'Rob' 37

Constructing the post-release problem 40

Constructing the post-release subject 47

Responses to the post-release problem 55

Conclusion 63

4 Assemblage, culture, liminality 65

'Matt' and 'Eddie' 65

Assemblage 68

Culture 74

Liminality 84

Assemblage-culture-liminality: A synthesis 93

Conclusion 96

5 Phenomenography 97

'Wayne' 97

Philosophical orientation 98

A phenomenographic approach 100

Research questions 103

Methods 103

Ethical issues 110

Access issues 111

Conclusion 111

6 Lived experience of release 113

'Nick' 113

Getting out 115

Being out 123

Staying out 134

Conclusion 143

7 Post-release support perspectives 145

'Ben' 145

Conceiving the subject 147

Understanding prisoners' release 153

The post-release support role 162

Conclusion 171

8 Home, identity, connection 173

'John' and 'Glen' 173

Home 176

Identity 181

Connection 192

Conclusion 198

9 Being and becoming 201

'Dale' 201

The main findings 203

The implications of the findings 208

The strengths and limitations of the research 209

Where to from here? 210

In conclusion ... 211.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 213-232) and index.

ISBN:

9781138665897

1138665894

OCLC:

988027905