‘Just’ punishment? Offenders’ views on the meaning and severity of punishment

Abstract

In England and Wales, 'punishment' is a central element of criminal justice. What punishment entails exactly, however, and how it relates to the other aims of sentencing (crime reduction, rehabilitation, public protection and reparation), remains contested. This article outlines different conceptualizations of punishment and explores to what extent offenders subscribe to these perspectives. The analysis is supported by findings from two empirical studies on the subjective experiences of imprisonment and probation, respectively. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 male and 15 female prisoners and seven male and two female probationers. Two primary conceptualizations of punishment were identified: 'punishment as deprivation of liberty' and 'punishment as hard treatment'. The comparative subjective severity of different sentences and the collateral (unintended) consequences of punishment are also discussed. It is shown that there are large individual differences in the interpretation and subjective experience of punishment, which has implications for the concept of retributive proportionality, as well as the function of punishment more generally.

Resilience to reoffending: Practice considerations for psychological therapies supporting young men to overcome adversity

“…Etherington (2004) saw narrative enquiry as a means by which we systematically gather, analyse and represent people's stories as told by them, challenging traditional and modernist views of truth. Previous work by Van Ginneken and Hayes (2017) found substantial differences in offenders’ subjective experience and perceptions of ‘punishment’ for crime, which may have implications for reoffending risk. By reinforcing the rationale for using narrative enquiry within this research, attempting to understand the subjective experience of young adult males through their lived experience, we add to existing knowledge relating to vulnerable young men and resilience mechanisms.…”

Coping mechanisms adopted by women ex-offenders in Nyeri County, Kenya

“…This means their life is usually constituted by periods of criminal activity and intermittency: they may be good for some time, but eventually fall back into the deviant lifestyle, as a result, these individuals typically experience incarceration multiple times throughout their life. Therefore, reentry not only affects ex-offenders themselves, but their families and the community at large (Schlager, 2013). During reentry, issues of public opinion and stigmatization commonly arise and become problematic (Schlager, 2013).…”

Why Punish?

“…These purposes may not be assumed to be all the same or even mutually compatible. Relatively less studied, too, are the purposes that those subject to punishment may set for themselves and how they make sense of their experiences (see, for example, Armstrong and Weaver 2013;Rex 2005;Schinkel 2014aSchinkel , 2014bVan Ginneken and Hayes 2017).…”