This article explores the lived experience of transitioning from closed to open prison conditions by a mandatory life-sentenced prisoner. Using autoethnographic methodology the lead author's experience of this significant life-sentence event forms the basis of a wider discussion. Research around this process is lacking. This article examines the phenomena around prisoner identity, prison culture and prisoner adaptation; it explores what impact of years spent in the closed prison estate can have on how open prison conditions are experienced. The authors identify important social and ontological obstacles to successful transition to open conditions and reflect on how it exposes the enduring harms resultant from serving a life sentence.
Category D open prisons mark a critical juncture of a prisoner's sentence as they near the end of imprisonment and reach the cusp of release. Such establishments aim to support prisoner reentry by offering greater freedom and autonomy. A greater understanding of the reality of life within an open establishment and exactly how these conditions support prisoner re-entry is needed. This study is made up of interviews with 11 prisoners residing in a UK open prison.Interviews were analysed qualitatively using interpretative phenomenological analysis which revealed two superordinate themes: 'redemption through active citizenship' and 'coping with invisible boundaries'. These themes are unpacked and their relevance to prisoner re-entry are discussed. The study found that greater freedom and autonomy encouraged reciprocal support amongst residents. Participants discuss strategies they utilise to help them to cope with the 'pains of freedom'. Implications for supporting individuals in their transformation from prisoner to citizen within an open establishment are highlighted and suggestions for future research offered.
With the current Conservative government employing, once again, punitive tough on crime, tough on sentencing rhetoric, the U.K. criminal justice system may well be embarking on another voyage into ineff ective attempts at crime prevention and prisoner rehabilitation. Since 2008, I have been a life sentenced prisoner. This refl ective auto-ethnographic study draws on lived experience, informal observations, and personal communications to help unpack some of the many factors that play a role in prisoner rehabilitation and its continued failure. A core part of this study is the role of masculinity within the prisoner experience. Within the prisoner experience is the continued impact of powerlessness, disenfranchisement, and social exclusion that operates to reinforce negative masculine pressures. There is a need for radical change in the way prisons are conceptualized in media and political spheres. Prisons may be part of a solution to social problems, but not in their enduring vogue.
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