TY - JOUR
T1 - Persistent punishment
T2 - users views of short prison sentences
AU - Armstrong, Sarah
AU - Weaver, Beth
PY - 2013
Y1 - 2013
N2 - Semi-structured interviews were conducted of 22 prisoners to gather information about the characteristic features of short prison sentences. Themes raised in comments included: the frequency and quality of sentences, addiction, family, and penal legitimacy. Most of the participants had extensive experience of prison, and the effects of this played out across sentences and years, accumulating and amplifying impacts. And, despite expressions of guilt and remorse, most participants saw their sentence as unjust, and mainly a reaction to offending history. We conclude by suggesting the need for research to shift focus from evaluating individual penal interventions towards more holistic and narrative accounts that cut across sentences.
AB - Semi-structured interviews were conducted of 22 prisoners to gather information about the characteristic features of short prison sentences. Themes raised in comments included: the frequency and quality of sentences, addiction, family, and penal legitimacy. Most of the participants had extensive experience of prison, and the effects of this played out across sentences and years, accumulating and amplifying impacts. And, despite expressions of guilt and remorse, most participants saw their sentence as unjust, and mainly a reaction to offending history. We conclude by suggesting the need for research to shift focus from evaluating individual penal interventions towards more holistic and narrative accounts that cut across sentences.
KW - penal legitimacy
KW - short-term imprisonment
KW - user voice
KW - qualitative methods
KW - Scotland
KW - prison
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84878705156&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/hojo.12015
DO - 10.1111/hojo.12015
M3 - Article
SN - 0265-5527
JO - The Howard Journal of Crime and Justice
JF - The Howard Journal of Crime and Justice
ER -