Marked Men: A Photography Study of Veterans Court Participants

• In Event: The Same but Different: Examining Underexamined Types of Problem-Solving Courts

Abstract

This paper reports on empirical findings from a photography study with men in a Veterans Treatment Court (VTC). Modeled after drug and mental health courts, VTCs offer treatment in lieu of incarceration to former servicepersons charged with criminal offenses. The Department of Justice estimates that 700,000 (or 3.2% of all veterans) are under some form of correctional supervision yet we know little about why they come into contact with the justice system and what strategies they use for community reintegration. I gave disposable cameras to sixteen participants in a Midwest VTC and asked them to photograph their experiences with judge mandated treatment. The camera empowered respondents to tell a much larger story about why they joined the military and what led up to their arrests. Veterans’ pictures revealed that they left the service still under the influence of the same traumatic experiences that caused them to enlist. The majority served honorably in noncombat roles yet their hidden backgrounds and the unspoken nature of their injuries places them at increased risk for institutional involvement. The implications of this study raise questions about whether these specialty dockets appropriately recognize and respond to the social histories that differentially affect justice involved veterans.

Author

• Babz M. Jewell, Ohio University