Prison Experience Research Articles

“Expected to happen”: perspectives on post-release overdose from recently incarcerated people with opioid use disorder

BackgroundOpioid-related overdose is the leading cause of death for people recently released from incarceration, however treatment with medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) during incarceration can reduce the mortality risk. This study seeks to qualitatively analyze perceptions of post-release overdose risk from the perspectives of people who received MOUD while incarcerated in one of eight Massachusetts jails during 2021–2022 using the Risk Environment Framework to guide analyses.MethodsN = 38 participants with lived experience of MOUD treatment during incarceration who are now living in the community were interviewed on factors that may contribute to or protect against post-release overdose risk. Themes were identified inductively and deductively using the Risk Environment Framework and its domains, which organizes themes along physical, social, economic, and policy environments on both the micro- and macro- scales.ResultsThe physical risk environment included loss of opioid tolerance during incarceration, polysubstance use, and the toxicity of the regional drug supply as key producers of increased risk for post-release overdose. Social drivers of risk included peer group risk norms—including peer-driven harm reduction practices and interpersonal relationships between drug sellers and buyers—as well as macro-level social determinants of health such as housing insecurity and availability of mental health services. Economic drivers of post-release overdose risk included lack of income generation during incarceration and employment challenges. Participants discussed several aspects of policy that contribute to post-release overdose risk, including availability of harm reduction supplies, public health services, and broader policy around MOUD.ConclusionsThe perspectives of people with lived experience are vital to understanding the disproportionate risks of overdose for those recently released from incarceration. Our results highlight the intersectional factors that produce and reproduce the post-release overdose risk environment, providing support for interventions across each domain of the Risk Environment Framework. By capturing perspectives from people with lived experience of OUD and incarceration during this critical period of risk, we can better identify interventions that target and mitigate overdose-related harm in this population.

Coherence in Ibn Zaydu:n’s Prison Poetry: A Performative-Stylistic Reading of the Si:niyya

This study of Ibn Zaydu:n’s Si:niyya contributes to the numerous attempts that have been carried out over the last two decades to analyze the classical Arabic qasi:da using recent criticism. Through a performative-stylistic reading and an in-depth analysis of the poem in the context of Ibn Zaydu:n’s prison experience, the study shows that the poem is thematically, structurally, psychologically, and spiritually unified. The Si:niyya is typically classified as a poem of beseech, which has a clear function: to secure the release of Ibn Zaydu:n from prison. This function operates as a unifying string that brings the various units and elements of the poem together. This study also illustrates that, at a thematic and stylistic level, Ibn Zaydu:n has succeeded in maintaining a delicate balance between preserving his dignity while asking his friend to intervene on his behalf. Rhythmically, however, the poem betrays the poet’s deep sense of insecurity and resentment. Received: 20 March 2024 / Accepted: 6 June 2024 / Published: 02 July 2024

PERSONAL SECURITY OF EDUCATORS AND TEACHERS. CASE STUDY OF BLESSED NATALIA TUŁASIEWICZ

ABSTRACT: Aim: The figure of Blessed Natalia Tułasiewicz appears as a person who increases her own power in upbringing and teaching, despite extremely difficult external conditions. Methods: On the basis of the notes, letters and testimonies left behind, subsequent layers of personal safety are reconstructed: ontic-cultural, psychological-social and instrumental-defense. Results: It turns out that the efficacy power of Natalia's influence on the environment increased in proportion to the development of the instrumental and defensive layer of her personal safety, in the feedback between its three layers. Conclusion: The extremely difficult experience of war, prison and concetration camp reality did not overcome the strength of Natalia's religiously shaped spirituality and self-education. Originality: The analysis of Natalia's agency in upbringing and teaching in difficult times was made by showing the structure and dynamics of the layers of her personal safety, which allowed for insight into her ontological profile as a human person, without standard psychological and sociological analyses. Keyword: personalistic analysis of act, lay apostolate, courage to act, cultural sensitivity, responsibility

I Dream of Prison

This is an autoethnographic exploration of some of my experiences in prisons in both Mexico City and England. My writing is a way for me to try to understand my journey in the light of my research as a feminist criminologist, a tool for me to begin to comprehend my journey, deconstruct my trauma, and outline how I overcame my incarceration-based trauma (IBT). The essay shines a light on how women who have been imprisoned, long after their release, continue to carry the echoes of prison as trauma responses. Autoethnography is a means to explore and contextualize my experiences in a manner that makes them relevant and meaningful to the wider social fabric, as above, so below.

Refugee and migrant women’s pathways into and through prisons: A systematic review of qualitative studies

Refugee and migrant women in prison are likely to have experiences of trauma and gender-based violence, which shape their pathways to prison and impact their experiences in prison. This systematic review analyses the findings of qualitative studies to gain a deeper understanding of the experiences of migrant and refugee women before and during imprisonment. The review was guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement (PRISMA). A systematic search of four academic databases, ProQuest Central, Taylor and Francis Journals, SAGE Journals and APA PsycInfo and web and citation search was carried out between April and October 2022. The search dates for identifying literature were from September 2001 to September 2021. The review’s search strategy identified 3208 articles from 4 databases and 9 studies from web and citation search, of which 11 met the inclusion criteria for the review. Quality appraisal was conducted using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP). Four analytic themes were identified that detail refugee and migrant women’s experiences before and during imprisonment: women’s pathways to imprisonment; health care experiences; intersectional identities and women’s agency in the context of prison experiences. The findings suggest that the current systems of incarceration fail to reflect the complexity of women prisoners’ racial and ethnic backgrounds. Thus, there is a need for a greater understanding of refugee and migrant women’s experiences to promote better institutional and community support for women before and during prison to eliminate their pathways to the prison. There have been a few studies with a focus on refugee and migrant women in prison. This is an area which lacks focus in terms of both research and intervention, and this review will make an important contribution in this regard.

Structural disadvantage and HIV risk - comparing risk factors between trans women's partnerships with cis men and trans women sexual partners.

Little is known about differences in HIV risk for trans women by partner gender, particularly with respect to social determinants and partner-level circumstances that affect behavior. We examined differences in demographic, social determinants, and HIV-related risk behaviors for trans women with cis men and trans women sexual partners. Data are from a cross-sectional survey of trans women and their sexual partners conducted between April 2020 and January 2021. Interviews were held remotely during shelter-in-place due to Covid-19 via videoconference. Analysis characterizedassociations between HIV risk and protective behaviors comparing trans women with cisgender men partners to trans women with non-cisgender sexual partners. A total of 336 sexual partners were identified from 156 trans women. Trans women with cis men partners had significantly less education and employment and more incarceration and recidivism than trans women with trans women partners. Trans women and their cisgender men partners had shared experiences of unstable housing, incarceration, and HIV. Trans women with cisgender men partners reported significantly more sex exchange partners, receptive condomless sex, receptive or insertive condomless sex while using substances, and HIV infection compared to trans women with trans women partners. Trans women with cisgender men sexual partners faced higher HIV risk than trans women with trans women sexual partners. These risks may be related to the social and economic drivers that both trans women and their cis men partners faced, including barriers to education and employment, along with incarceration and recidivism. Interventions focused on economic stability, workforce development and post incarceration re-entry support for housing and employment for trans women with cis men partners and the cisgender men partners as well may have the most impact on reducing HIV risk and incidence.

CEO's prison experience and corporate risk-taking

This paper studies the impact of a CEO's prison experience on corporate risk-taking. Using a sample of Chinese private sector manufacturing firms listed on the A-shares in Shanghai and Shenzhen from 2000 to 2021, the results show that firms led by CEOs with prison experience have higher levels of risk-taking. Further analysis suggests that the marketization process moderates the positive effect of the CEO's prison experience on corporate risk-taking. Similarly, the effect is less pronounced according to the CEO's education level and political identity. This paper also finds that the effect of the CEO's prison experience on corporate risk-taking is amplified during the period of COVID-19.

A Qualitative Program Evaluation of a Digital Peer Support Group for Formerly Incarcerated People

Abstract: Objectives: A qualitative program evaluation of the Formerly Incarcerated Peer Support (FIPS) group, a peer-led mutual support group for formerly incarcerated people, was conducted to understand participant perceptions of (1) digital delivery via Zoom, (2) curriculum content, (3) roles of group participants, and (4) therapeutic value of FIPS group as it relates to traumatic experiences in prison and ongoing challenges after release. Methods: Using a community-based participatory action research approach, a qualitative evaluation was conducted with participants in either the 2020 or 2021 curriculum. Semi-structured interviews were conducted via Zoom, transcribed, de-identified, coded, and analyzed via applied thematic analysis and results reviewed with participants. Results: Of 75 formerly incarcerated participants, 20 interviews were conducted and recorded ( n = 20). All participants were male, 85% were Black, and the average age was 54.8 years old. Zoom delivery was not preferred, but feasible. Most appreciated the comprehensive and holistic curriculum that enabled peers to gain practical and emotional social support in different areas of life after release. The facilitator’s experience with prison programs and relationships within peer networks was essential for recruitment and retention. Participants described (1) feelings of acceptance, (2) examples of teaching and learning from peers’ improved insight, trigger management, response modification to stressors, and (3) improved understanding within relationships with those who have not been incarcerated. Conclusions: Digital delivery of peer-led psychosocial support groups for formerly incarcerated people is feasible and impactful. Future research can further characterize the lingering impacts of institutional traumas and quantify changes.

Lessons in Resistance, Activism, and Solidarity: Incarcerated Women and the California Coalition for Women Prisoners

Abstract: In 2000, Charisse Shumate, a co-founding member of the California Coalition for Women Prisoners (CCWP) and other incarcerated women in California gathered at a senate hearing to give testimony on medical and living conditions in prison. Incarcerated women's narratives demonstrate the key role that their critical agency played in their advocacy for a humane prison system. The narratives also illustrate women's resolve to use their voices to speak up. Women's experiences of incarceration have long been silenced and this was part of the collective experience shared at the senate hearing. The collaborative work to document the hearings as well as women's prison experiences and activism reflects an important response to women's invisibility in dominant discourses of prisons and imprisonment and the marginalization that incarcerated women experience in the broader anti-carceral movement. The California Coalition for Women Prisoners, a coalition-building organization founded by women on both sides of the razor wire, is an abolitionist feminist organization founded in San Francisco, California in 1995. CCWP practices a specific brand of activism that prioritizes and supports the voices, leadership, and creativity of women and transgender people incarcerated in women's prisons.

The pains of prison reform: Informal prisoner governance and penal subjectivities in Estonia and Lithuania

Building on the growing literature on the varying degrees and dimensions of prisoner governance across prison systems, this paper aims to understand how such governance, and reforms to reduce its informal influences, shape prisoner experiences in Estonia and Lithuania. Estonia has limited the influence of prisoner governance through the creation of a cell-based prison system, while Lithuania has maintained penal colonies in which prisoners largely self-govern. Utilizing a metaphor approach to the pains of imprisonment, we offer the concept of an imposition gradient to capture variation in the experience of the weight and tightness produced by both prison authorities and prisoners themselves across our cases. The paper makes three contributions: first, it aims to explicitly assess the relationship between varieties of prisoner governance and penal subjectivities. Second, it rethinks the relatively static metaphors of weight and tightness as fluid and dynamic experiences shaped by the degrees of prisoner governance present within prison systems and particular spaces of particular prisons. Third, the paper speaks to recent appeals to develop comparative research into varieties of imprisonment regimes, deepening comparative theories of prison order across the Global North and South.

Requisites of Deradicalisation: Study on the De-Ideologisation of Indonesian Ex-Terrorists

Studies on terrorism in Indonesia heavily emphasize a security-first approach, which has had profound implications for counter-terrorism strategies, policies, and terrorist imprisonment. This approach, however, fails to properly grasp the internal “deep experience” of terrorists. There are currently 289 terrorist convicts serving their prison sentences in 113 Correctional Institutions throughout Indonesia. Until 2017, over 60 convicted terrorists have been documented for recidivist behaviour and repeating their crimes. This phenomenon raises the question of the possibility of de-ideologization of terrorists in incarceration and if Indonesia’s criminal justice system is truly effective in deradicalizing terrorists. Our study explores this question by interviewing three different groups: ex-terrorists who have served their prison sentence, terrorists who were still incarcerated in prison, and former sympathizers of ISIS who had been deported back from Syria to Indonesia. We explored the social elements and actors that constituted their radical view, their experiences in prison, and the factors that had led them to abandon terrorist activities or disavow their support for ISIS. We conclude that social-legal policies aiming to effectively reduce the ideological reproduction of terrorism cannot be carried out using a heavy-handed security approach, but sociological insights are required to grasp the allure and kernel of truth behind terrorist acts.

Geographic and psychosocial correlates of homelessness or unstable housing among USveterans in the Midwest.

The purpose of this study was to explore (1) the prevalence of physical and mental health conditions among veterans stratified by homelessness and unstable housing (HUH) in several Midwestern states, and (2) the correlation between HUH and sociodemographic, military, financial, risky behavior, health, and geographical characteristics. The study cohort consisted of 7260 HUH veterans and stably housed veterans in 2018-2022 in Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 23. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed which revealed the strongest associations with HUH were any incarceration experience (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 0.21) and rural location (AOR = 0.33). Frontier and remote location scores (AOR = 1.23) were associated with increased risk of HUH among veterans. Our results suggest potential differences in risk for HUH among veterans living in rural versus frontier and remote locations, which may be important to consider to provide care to the many veterans in these areas.

Therapeutic gardening in English prisons post-pandemic: implications for health and wellbeing

PurposeGreener on the Outside for Prisons (GOOP) is a therapeutic horticulture programme targeting the high levels of complex health and social care needs in prisons in England. The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting lockdowns led to unprecedented disruption in prisons in England. This paper examines the experiences of prisoners both during and post-lockdowns in four prisons, to understand the effects of participation in GOOP on health and wellbeing after the disruption of restrictions, and identify implications for developing this programme further.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on original qualitative data gathered from in-depth narrative-based interviews and focus groups with prisoners and staff in four English prisons. Audio data was transcribed and subject to a thematic analysis, drawing from a realist-informed lens.FindingsThematic analysis revealed five key themes: reimagining the GOOP context; increasing empathy between participants; building sense of coherence; reconnecting with nature and a joined-up connection with provider services. The main arguments centre on horticulture in prisons remaining under-utilised as a means of promoting good health and wellbeing, although there is enthusiasm from staff to provide green spaces for the most vulnerable prisoners and develop a range of mechanisms to connect people in prison with nature.Originality/valueThis paper focuses on new knowledge arising from an unprecedented situation in English prisons, from key stakeholders on the frontline of garden activities. Accounts demonstrate the extent of the health and wellbeing benefits of participation in such activities in this challenging environment, which has implications for practice for prisons more widely.

Understanding carceral mobilities in and through lived experiences of incarceration

Recent scholarship on carceral mobilities critiques conceptualizations of carceral spaces as fixed and stable, and movements within or around sites of confinement as linear and horizontal. According to this critique, criminological studies of imprisonment have typically embraced what Turner and Peters (2017) [‘Rethinking mobility in criminology’, Punishment & Society 19(1), 96–114] term a ‘sedentarist ontology’ by failing to consider the complexities of prisoner mobilities in the lived experiences of the carceral. We draw on qualitative interview data from the Prison Transparency Project, a multiyear study initially across four research sites in Canada focused on former prisoners’ narratives of their carceral experiences, to identify and analyze the multifaceted mobilities that characterize prison life. We focus on three aspects of carceral mobilities: the use of psychotropic medications to produce docility, the coercive (im)mobilities of physical restraints and the ‘prison on wheels’ (i.e., prisoner transport vehicles). Using the concept of ‘kinetic immobility’, in which prisoners’ bodies are immobilized so they can be coercively moved (or not) through space and time, we consider the degree to which the theoretical work on carceral mobilities aligns with lived experiences of incarceration, as narrated by research participants.

Does the cost of cancer care for people in prison differ from those in the general population? Analysis of matched English cancer registry and hospital records

People in prison experience poorer mental and physical health compared to their peers in the general population. The causes are multi-dimensional ranging from lifestyle factors to poorer access to healthcare. Little is known about cancer in people in prison or how the cost of their care compares to the general population. Data on people diagnosed with cancer while in English prisons were identified in National Cancer Registration dataset and linked to Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) for the years 2012-2017. General population matched patients were identified using a 1-5 ratio, based on age, gender, year of diagnosis, cancer type and disease stage. Outpatient and inpatient HES data up to six-months from diagnosis were costed using NHS Reference costs and inflated to 2017/2018 costs. 879 prison and 4326 general population cancer diagnoses were identified in HES. The adjusted six-month cost of cancer care was significantly lower for people in prison (-£1216.95% confidence interval (CI)-1638 to-795), driven by fewer outpatient attendances. However, people diagnosed in prison had higher emergency care costs (£497.95% CI 375-619). Security escorts further increased the total cost of care. Following a cancer diagnosis, people in English prisons have significantly lower planned care costs, but higher emergency care costs and an overall higher cost due to security escorts. Further work is required to identify ways of improving cancer care for people in prisons to ensure it is equivalent to that received by the general population. National Institute for Health and Social Care Research 16/52/53.

Comparing the effectiveness of depot buprenorphine (buvidal injection) and buprenorphine/naloxone (suboxone) treatment following custody release - a retrospective cohort study

ABSTRACT Background Many opioid-dependent people in prison experience unplanned opioid withdrawal upon entry into custody and face high rates of relapse, opioid overdose, & even death following custody release. The aim of the study was to examine and compare the effectiveness of depot buprenorphine and buprenorphine-naloxone sublingual treatments following custody release. Methods A retrospective descriptive comparative design, involving a review of electronic medical records (eMR) of 62 adults aged ±18 years who had received either buprenorphine-naloxone sublingual or depot buprenorphine treatment. The sample was identified from the intake register from 2019 to 2020. R statistical software was used for data analysis. Results Former inmates treated with depot buprenorphine tended to stay in treatment longer (M ± SD: 122.8 ± 59.8 days) than those treated with buprenorphine-naloxone sublingual (M ± SD: 89.4 ± 66.6 days). Out of 28 former inmates on depot buprenorphine, six (21%) were re-incarcerated, compared to 13 out of 34 on buprenorphine-naloxone sublingual treatment (38%). Conclusions Clients who received depot buprenorphine treatment prior to custody release exhibited better community treatment retention and a lower number of re-incarcerations compared to those who received buprenorphine-naloxone sublingual treatment. This study contributes to the limited knowledge base regarding depot buprenorphine and will inform future research.

An Intersectional Analysis of Perceptions of Race in U.S. Prisons From Individuals Previously Incarcerated With Mental Illness

Despite efforts to reduce the number of people in the United States living in prison, people with mental illnesses continue to be overrepresented in prisons. This study explores how race impacts the prison experiences of individuals with mental illnesses. Thirty-seven participants were recruited from three states via flyers at community treatment providers and through word of mouth. Participants completed in-depth, semi-structured interviews and surveys to understand prison experiences and collect demographic information. Data analyses included descriptive statistics, framework method analysis, and an intersectional lens. Findings show that participant experiences were influenced by race through interpersonal interactions between those incarcerated and through interactions between people incarcerated and correctional staff. Intersectional identities underlying these interactions were explored including race, socioeconomic status, rural versus urban residents, and subordinate/dominant roles tied to power (e.g., staff vs. person incarcerated). These findings provide insight into how race, mental illness, and criminal-legal contact intersect.

Navigating the emotional terrain of prison reentry: State‐sanctioned gendered violence

AbstractThe emotional experiences of incarceration are directly tied to state‐sanctioned gendered violence. Most incarcerated women have a history of trauma, stemming directly from broader socio‐political and economic forces, which is further rendered throughout the incarceration and reentry process. The carceral system in the United States disrupts family and social support systems, fails to provide accessible and adequate mental health and substance use services, and denies stabilization resources such as housing, employment, and citizenry for women once released from prison, yet their emotional experiences are largely absent in analyses of this gendered violence. Drawing from a larger intimate ethnography project with a woman, LaTasha, recently released from a 25‐year to life prison sentence, this article examines how women negotiate and express emotions within the context of prison reentry contributing to feminist anthropological scholarship on state‐sanctioned gender violence. Through an in‐depth analysis of the challenges LaTasha faces in rebuilding relationships with family, navigating a system in which she has been outcasted, and asserting herself after being systematically disempowered, we gain insight into the ways in which carceral systems have prevented emotional complexity resulting in a form of incipient and largely invisible violence.

Competency-based training within the prison system: enhancing the likelihood of entrepreneurial activity upon release

ABSTRACT Recidivism rates across the world remain high, and one of the key reasons for this situation is that people leaving the prison system have great difficulty in securing employment. Addressing this issue must be explored from a broad perspective, but one potential career option that is under-explored is self-employment, with few entrepreneurship programmes available within prison systems. This study explores a competency-based approach to training, examining the knowledge, skills, and behaviours needed to enhance the prospects of persons with lived experience of prison becoming entrepreneurs. Using thematic analysis on ten in-depth interviews, this article identifies three categories of competency (generic, specific, and existing) that need to be developed, honed and leveraged through an in-prison entrepreneurship programme designed to enhance the likelihood of participants undertaking entrepreneurial activity upon release. Such findings aim to contribute to the competency-based approach to training, to the minority entrepreneurship domain, and to the entrepreneurship education literature.

The Impact of Trauma-Sensitive Yoga on Persons Who Are Incarcerated: Identifying, Understanding, and Controlling Emotions.

While persons who are incarcerated have high rates of previous trauma, further traumatization can result from the experience of incarceration. The inability to effectively process trauma can lead to maladaptive behavior, a serious concern for correctional administrators. Acquiring the skills to regulate emotions and mitigate feelings of impulsivity help persons who are incarcerated take responsibility for their actions to make better decisions, simultaneously encouraging prosocial behavior, decreasing institutional misconduct, and reducing behaviors that place one at risk for repeated involvement in the criminal justice system. Trauma-sensitive yoga (TSY) is one correctional intervention that can effectively address misconduct issues. Yet, the specific impact of TSY on populations who are incarcerated has not been empirically investigated. A mixed-methods study, utilizing pretest and posttest interviewing, was conducted with male residents in a New York jail who completed a 4-week TSY program. Data indicated that those who participated in TSY experienced statistically significant improvements in self-esteem, self-control, resilience, institutional conduct, self-efficacy, and emotion regulation. Qualitative data also indicated high levels of connectivity with other TSY class participants. This research implies that cost-effective interventions like TSY have the ability to produce beneficial outcomes within a short time, which is integral to furthering rehabilitative efforts within the transient nature of the jail setting.