Prison release: Explorations in the sensescape

• In Event: PWG - Social, spatial, and contextual influences on desistance

Abstract

The phenomenon of reentry has received considerable scholarly attention. The extant literature documents the challenges many returning citizens face as they navigate institutional and social processes rooted in stigma and discrimination. Returning citizens face stigma and discrimination in the employment market, higher education admissions processes and the housing market, and such stigma may be internalized impacting mental health and successful community reintegration. The dulling experience of low-wage work, insecure housing, and weak family ties are the much-documented bleak reality. It is unsurprising that many returning citizens feel that they are “doomed to deviance” as they attempt to reintegrate back into the community. Sensory criminology offers us a new perspective on the reentry experience. Sensory criminology focuses on the role of sensory experiences; the smells, touches, tastes, sights, and sounds that shape an individual's experiences with the criminal justice system. This paper focuses on the sensory experience of reentry – specifically the last 12 hours in prison and the first 12 hours of release from incarceration. The central research question is: How is release day experienced by returning citizens? Open-ended interviews were conducted with 15 previously incarcerated individuals. Specifically, the prompt “Tell me about the day of your release” was asked. Analysis of the narrative transcripts focused on the sensory experience of release day. By examining the sounds, sights, smells, taste and touch of release day that make up the sensescape, this research foregrounds sensory factors in contrast to criminology’s frequent focus on background factors. A sensory focus enables researchers to explore anew, to revisit, and to re-examine assumptions about the criminological world.

Authors

• Kevin Barnes-Ceeney, New Haven University

• Victoria Espinoza, University of New Haven