Trajectories of hope/lessness among men and women in the late stage of a life sentence

Abstract

Drawing on Snyder's ‘hope theory’ as a conceptual framework, this article examines the hope narratives of men and women at the ‘late stage’ of a life sentence. The article aims to bridge the existing gap between jurisprudence and sociological accounts on hope and life imprisonment by extending this debate to men and women serving reducible life sentences in England and Wales, for whom release is not guaranteed but assumed to be attainable. Through focusing on the individual ways in which the spectre and procedural elements of release shape narratives of hope and hopelessness, this article agrees with Vannier that recent human rights debates have fallen short in terms of subjectively understanding the complex relationship between ‘hope’ and ‘release’ for life-sentenced prisoners. It concludes by highlighting the necessity of procedural legitimacy in reducing uncertainty and promoting and maintaining hope among this group.

Book review: Normalizing Extreme Imprisonment: The Case of Life Without Parole in California

“…In Chapter 4, the letters from incarcerated persons serving LWOP add the human voices and depth that may have been lost through a sole reliance on archival research. Although some readers may be left wanting more of these narratives, this chapter makes a particularly strong theoretical contribution to research on the experience of long-term imprisonment (see, for example, Crewe et al, 2020; Jarman, 2020; Wright et al, 2022). The author specifically explores how LWOP prisoners confront a range of “deaths” related to their limited means of appealing their sentence, their exclusion from rehabilitative programs, and their embodied experience of physical decline in a prison environment characterized by neglect and one where care for aging and ill bodies is scarce.…”

Incarceration and Re-entry for Provincial Prisoners: Is there Hope?

“…The study highlights the role of hope in the prisoner transitional period of both re-entry and desistance from crime. Other research that combines hope with incarceration oftentimes focuses on long-term and lifesentences, where these offenders have little chance of experiencing a life outside of the institution (Johnson & McGunigall-Smith, 2008;Leigey & Ryder, 2015;Wright, Hulley & Crewe, 2022). This research differs in that it seeks to explore how hope plays a role for offenders with their sentences being two years or less.…”

“…Theoretical constructs that guide this research are Snyder's hope theory, Agnew's strain theory and Tyler's procedural justice construct. Broadly, Wright, Hulley and Crewe (2022) note that hope plays a significant role in motivation that influences prison-based desistance.…”