School-Lifetime Incarceration Nexus: The Roles of Schools in Sentencing Black Children to Life in Prison

• In Event: Linkages Between Education and the Criminal Legal System

Abstract

Objectives or Purposes
In this work, we examine how schooling experiences impact the life-course development of individuals given mandatory life sentences without parole as children. These are individuals who the state frames as “juvenile lifers”; however we intentionally use language that centers their humanity, as children who were sentenced to die in prison. Although there are a number of factors that could possibly account for their life without parole sentence, we focus on the effects of educational experiences, considering them a significant contributor to the school-incarceration nexus (Bennett & McGuire, in press). It is important to understand the educational experiences of these youth, as life-course perspectives have not thoroughly investigated the influence of schools and education (Payne & Welsh, 2014).This in mind, understanding incarcerated youths’ schooling experiences might reveal how they cope with the challenges of prison and prepare to enter the outside world after multiple decades incarcerated, especially following the 2016 U.S. Supreme Court decision which deemed sentencing children to life sentences unconstitutional.

Perspectives or Theoretical Framework
We utilize Life Course Theory (LCT) and the Black Radical Tradition (BRT) to frame our research. LCT provides a comprehensive view of human development, factoring in social, psychological, and biological elements that shape lives from birth to death, while emphasizing the influence of early-life events on later outcomes (Elder, 1996, 1998; Elder & Shanahan, 2006). BRT, meanwhile, centers the experiences of our Black participants within their socio-political contexts, acknowledging the racial inequality inherent in school systems (Andrews, 2014), without carrying the burden of "fixing" those systems. Together, these theories allow us to understand participants' experiences amidst routine and exceptional forms of anti-Black violence.

Methods, Techniques, or Modes of Inquiry
We employ a concurrent mixed-method research design, emphasizing the qualitative data to explore the personal narratives of individuals serving life sentences. Life-history interviews and life-history calendars form our primary data collection methods, enabling us to track timing, gather stories, and delve into salient themes.

Data Sources, Evidence, Objects, or Materials
We use a purposive sample that highlights the lived experiences of 30 predominantly Black individuals before, during, and after serving a mandatory life without parole sentence for acts of homicide committed as children. Inclusion criteria for the study encompasses people who were sentenced to life without parole as children in Pennsylvania and who were released from prison during or before January 2019.

Results and/or Substantiated Conclusions or Warrants for Arguments/Point of View
Our findings underline the profound influence of schooling on life-course trajectories. Many individuals facing death by incarceration made statements that reflected on their educational experiences during childhood and, in some instances, connected those early schooling experiences across the life course (incarceration & reentry periods).

Scientific or Scholarly Significance of the Study or Work
Our work extends the literature examining the role of schooling in the life-course, particularly within the school-incarceration nexus. It stresses that, while education often serves as a protective factor, traditional schooling systems may not always provide the most supportive environment for Black incarcerated youth.

Authors

• J.Z. Bennett, University of Cincinnati

• Christy L. McGuire, University of Pittsburgh

• Martez D. Files, University of Pittsburgh