The Role of Release on Temporary Licence For Life-Sentenced Prisoners Returning to the Outside

• In Event: Community Supervision Policy and Practice in Reentry

Abstract

This presentation explores the release of men serving mandatory life-sentences in England and Wales through an empirical short-longitudinal study. In many US states, individuals released from life sentences have limited or no opportunities to experience temporary release from custody prior to re-entry. The experience in England and Wales, however, is distinctly different as most lifers progress through the prison estate to the lowest security level where they can access opportunities to leave the prison for short periods of time on Release on Temporary Licence (ROTL). Beyond acclimation to technology and spaces, this presentation reports how ROTLs enabled lifers to get mentally ready to re-enter the outside world. These men experienced temporary releases as a small ‘taste of freedom’, through which they were able to ‘rehearse’ their release. Gradual re-entry into the community was seen to mediate the sense that release itself was experienced as ‘chaotic’ or overwhelming, minimising any potential ‘exit shock’. This presentation will demonstrate the important and transformative role that ROTLs play (beyond simply reducing recidivism) in preparing those leaving prison for their release, situating this discussion within a political landscape where transition to open prisons and the use of temporary releases has drastically reduced in recent years.

Author

• Ailie Rennie, University of Nottingham