Imprisonment and the Improbable Persistence of the Rehabilitative Ideal

• In Event: The Impact of Punishment on Character and Agential Capacity

Abstract

The evidence base in favor of the labeling theory hypothesis that imprisonment makes individuals more likely to offend is now substantial and difficult to dismiss. Yet, members of the public and actors within the criminal justice system continue to believe that incarceration can be valuable in turning lives around. Even more remarkably, former prisoners themselves often seek a ‘silver lining’ from punishment experiences by describing incarceration as “the best thing that ever happened” to them and so forth. Drawing on the narratives of both ex-prisoners and members of the public, this paper will explore the improbable persistence of this rehabilitative ideal in the face of obvious evidence to the contrary, interrogate its purpose as a narrative, and suggest how it might be utilized in the name of penal reform.

Author

• Shadd Maruna, Rutgers University