Socialization After Prisonization: Analyzing Offender Narratives

• In Event: Understanding the Desistance Process

Abstract

Most studies of prisoner reentry have emphasized offenders’ needs for resources that will assist with gaining fruitful employment, finding stable housing, and drug rehabilitation. However, little work has included the personal narratives of offenders in which individuals explain their unique experiences with reentry. While every reentry experience is and will be unique, the result is the same for nearly 70 percent of offenders: re-arrest within three years of release (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2002). African American offenders, especially those from low socioeconomic backgrounds, generally approach similar challenges in their attempt to reintegrate. In this research, I will analyze in-depth interviews with black male ex-offenders previously incarcerated for one year or more for non-violent, drug-related offenses. I will deconstruct the narratives and analyze them against sociological theories with the intention of gaining a greater understanding of what offenders found to be their greatest obstacles upon release, and what resources would have facilitated successful reentry. The main emphasis will be on whether a socialization process focusing on psychosocial training should be incorporated into the pre-release phase to better prepare inmates for upcoming challenges that will accompany their stigmatizing label as criminal. Preliminary findings will be presented.

Author

• Teah Monique Hairston, University of Missouri - Columbia