Mass Imprisonment and the Family

Abstract

ABSTRACT The new phenomena of mass imprisonment in American life has brought about the incarceration of millions of people, the imposition of draconian prison terms, and the creation of an increasingly harsh prison regime. An examination of case law, as well as legal rules and regulations, shows how these changes have affected prisoner-family relationships as expressed in law. Two issues are addressed: prisoners' rights to marry and divorce and prisoners' rights of visitation with partners, spouses, and children. The analysis of case law involving these issues provide access to the dominant forms of legal discourse shaping the relationship between prisoners and their families. The evidence shows that despite the symbolic deference given by the law to the importance of prison-family relationships in the ultimate rehabilitation of prisoners, there has been widespread deterioration of prisoner access to families. The increasingly harsh prison regimes regard families as potentially criminal and subversive and courts have been reluctant to afford prisoners any meaningful legal remedies where families are separated by prison policy or the estrangement of family members.