Social Death among Long-Term Inmates

• In Event: Posters II

Abstract

Social death is the termination of a person’s social existence in the dominant culture. Prison social death is a public policy concern as social death in inmates can lead to violence in prison and has serious implications for those serving life sentences. A survey of 304 inmates at the Louisiana State Penitentiary examined the degree of social death in long-term inmates as it pertains to both the free (non-prison) world and the internal prison community itself. Our analysis details the degree of inmate contacts with the free world and involvement within the prison community. We then describe methods used by the prison to mitigate social death, offer tentative evaluations of the effectiveness of those methods, and make suggestions for additional reforms.

Authors

• Ami Stearns, University of Louisiana at Lafayette

• Elizabeth Louviere, University of Louisiana at Lafayette

• Rick Swanson, University of Louisiana at Lafayette

• Stephanie Etie, University of Louisiana at Lafayette