Challenging the ‘Social Death’ of Incarcerated People Through Storytelling and Advocacy

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to understand the impact of incarceration and the potential to reduce its unintended residual effects through the initiatives of a non-profit humanitarian organisation called Humans of San Quentin (HoSQ). Using a critical methodological approach supported by established academic scholarship we argue that social death occurs as a consequence of suffering pains of imprisonment. The results also indicated that HoSQ creates a counter-current and to some degree ameliorates the pains of imprisonment by establishing a platform for incarcerated people to convey their stories. When incarcerated people express and explain their life histories, these assist in bringing clarity to painful experiences, and in their individual healing process. The community also gains a greater understanding of the complexity and multifacetedness of criminal justice interactions.

The Sociological Imagination: Reflections of a Prisoner in Australia

“…Reflecting on prisons in Australia (and globally), as a society we subscribe to the idea that prison keeps communities safe because it incapacitates incarcerated people from committing further crime (Ryan, 2009). This is a notion that goes unchallenged, at least for those blinded by purported representations of crime and justice discourses purveyed by conventional media (e.g., Martinovic et al, 2022). In turn, punitive agendas are championed, engendering opinions which seek to necessitate the institution of prisons into our cultural tapestry.…”

Inside Out and Think Tank Participation in Australia: Can Engaging with Lived Experience of Incarceration Promote Desistance?

“…This recognition has also seen the Think Tanks consult and participate in numerous collaborative projects with government and non-governmental agencies. Their contributions ranging from art installations to court-house designs and parliamentary inquiries (see Martinovic et al, 2022a;Martinovic & Stringer, 2022;Martinovic et al, 2022b). Within these spaces, incarcerated individuals are treated with respect, their perspectives and voices are centralised, and they are reminded of their capacity for prosocial participation.…”