Criminal (In)justice? A Frame Analysis of the Impact of Family Member Incarceration on Worldview

• In Event: Law, Courts, and Public Perspectives on Crime, Punishment, and Justice

Abstract

Purpose: To understand the impact of familial incarceration on family members’ understanding of the U.S. carceral system. I investigate how families (re)conceptualize the system, define legitimacy and fairness, and respond to what they see as unfair legal practices.
Design: Data consists of 21 interviews with family members who have a loved one incarcerated, and 65 hours of observations of three virtual support groups over 18 months (a general family group, a partners group, and a siblings group).
Findings: Families conceptualize the “injustice system” through one of four frames: 1) it does not fulfill what they understood as its intended purpose; 2) rules and laws are inconsistently applied; 3) a lack of procedural justice; and 4) punishment is too harsh to be considered “just.” These families resort to one of three responses: activism, or top-level systemic social change; advocacy, or medium-level actions on behalf of their loved one; and caregiving, or micro-level radical acts of care.
Conclusion: Existing research shows that family members retreat from institutional engagement after direct experience with the carceral system, with few mobilized into resistance. This study demonstrates that there is something unique about families who participate in support groups, who may be structurally available for action.

Author

• Allegra Pocinki, Rutgers University