Skip to main content
Book cover

Life Imprisonment from Young Adulthood pp 1–28Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Introduction

  • 388 Accesses

Part of the Palgrave Studies in Prisons and Penology book series (PSIPP)

Abstract

When the Advisory Committee on the Penal System reported on the prison regime for long-term prisoners in conditions of maximum security in 1968, only 168 individuals were serving sentences of longer than 10 years. Today, such sentences are bordering on commonplace. England and Wales have the highest number of life-sentenced prisoners within Europe, while increasing average sentence lengths mean that more men and women are serving longer periods in custody than ever before. It is within this context of shifting penal sensibilities, and increasing anxieties about a growing population of young men serving very long sentences, that this chapter provides the background to the study at the heart of this book. Such considerations are located within relevant shifts in the penal system of England and Wales, in particular, the legacy of the minimum tariffs contained within the 2003 Criminal Justice Act, the ‘up-tariffing’ of ‘knife homicides’ and the increasing use of joint enterprise sentencing.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • DOI: 10.1057/978-1-137-56601-0_1
  • Chapter length: 28 pages
  • Instant PDF download
  • Readable on all devices
  • Own it forever
  • Exclusive offer for individuals only
  • Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout
eBook
USD   29.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • ISBN: 978-1-137-56601-0
  • Instant PDF download
  • Readable on all devices
  • Own it forever
  • Exclusive offer for individuals only
  • Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout
Softcover Book
USD   37.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
Hardcover Book
USD   119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
Learn about institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    As we explain in Chapter 2, throughout the book, when quoting prisoners, we specify their pseudonym, their age by decade, and their sentence stage at the time of the interview.

  2. 2.

    Wholesale removal of the death penalty as a legally defined, if unused, punishment from the statute books in England and Wales did not occur until 1998.

  3. 3.

    These figures exclude whole-life tariffs.

  4. 4.

    NOMS was the name of the organisation that oversaw prison and probation services in England and Wales from June 2004 until April 2017, at which point it was renamed Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS).

References

  • Akram, S., & Hogan, A. (2015). On reflexivity and the conduct of the self in everyday life: Reflections on Bourdieu and Archer. British Journal of Sociology, 66(4), 605–625.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Archer, M. (2003). Structure, agency and the internal conversation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Archer, M. (2007). Making our way through the world: Human reflexivity and social mobility. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Archer, M. (2012). The reflexive imperative. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Aresti, A., Eatough, V., & Brooks-Gordon, B. (2010). Doing time after time: An interpretative phenomenological analysis of reformed ex-prisoners’ experiences of self-change, identity and career opportunities. Psychology, Crime & Law, 16(3), 169–190.

    Google Scholar 

  • Banister, P. A., Smith, F. V., Heskin, K. J., & Bolton, N. (1973). Psychological correlates of long-term imprisonment. British Journal of Criminology, 13(4), 312–330.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Bennathan, J., & Taylor, P. (2016). Jogee and joint enterprise—Where to from here? Historic convictions, appeals, and the Criminal Cases Review Commission. London: Doughty Street Chambers. Accessed 30 May 2018 from https://www.doughtystreet.co.uk/documents/uploaded-documents/2016_02_-_Bennathan_and_Taylor_on_Jogee.pdf.

  • Blom-Cooper, L. (1987). The penalty of imprisonment. The Tanner lectures on human values. Lecture, Delivered at Clare Hall. University of Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bottoms, A. E. (1977). Reflections on the renaissance of dangerousness. The Howard Journal of Criminal Justice, 12(2), 70–96.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, A. (1998). Doing time: The extended present of the long-term prisoner. Time & Society, 7(1), 93–103.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Bureau of Investigative Journalism. (2014). Joint enterprise: An investigation into the legal doctrine of joint enterprise in criminal convictions. London: The Bureau of Investigative Journalism.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clemmer, D. (1940). The prison community. New Braunfels: Christopher Publishing House.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, S., & Taylor, L. (1972). Psychological survival: The experience of long-term imprisonment. Middlesex: Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cope, N. (2000). Drug use in prison: The experience of young offenders. Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy, 7(4), 355–366.

    Google Scholar 

  • Council of Europe. (1977). Committee on crime problems: Treatment of long-term prisoners. Strasbourg: Council of Europe.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crawley, E., & Sparks, R. (2005). Hidden injuries? Researching the experiences of older men in English prisons. Howard Journal of Criminal Justice, 44(4), 345–356.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Crewe, B., Hulley, S., & Wright, S. (2017). The gendered pains of life imprisonment. British Journal of Criminology, 57(6), 1359–1378.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crewe, B., Liebling, A., Padfield, N., & Virgo, G. (2015). Joint enterprise: The implications of an unfair and unclear law. Criminal Law Review, 4, 249–266.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crown Prosecution Service. (2018). Secondary liability; charging decisions on principals and accessories. Accessed 23 May 2018 from https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/secondary-liability-charging-decisions-principals-and-accessories.

  • Cullen, E., & Newell, T. (1999). Murderers and life imprisonment: Containment, treatment, safety and risk. Winchester: Waterside Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Farrugia, D. (2013). The reflexive subject: Towards a theory of reflexivity as practical intelligibility. Current Sociology, 6(3), 283–300.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Farrugia, D., & Woodman, D. (2015). Ultimate concerns in late modernity: Archer, Bourdieu and reflexivity. British Journal of Sociology, 66(4), 626–644.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Feeley, M. M., & Simon, J. (1992). The new penology: Notes on the emerging strategy of corrections and its implications. Criminology, 30(4), 449–474.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Flanagan, T. J. (1980). The pains of long-term imprisonment: A comparison of British and American perspectives. The British Journal of Criminology, 20(2), 148–156.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Flanagan, T. J. (1982). Correctional policy and the long-term prisoner. Crime & Delinquency, 28(1), 82–95.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Flanagan, T. (1995a). Preface. In T. Flanagan (Ed.), Long-term imprisonment: Policy, science and correctional practice (pp. xi–xiv). Thousand Oaks: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Flanagan, T. (1995b). Long-term incarceration: Issues of science, policy and correctional practice. In T. Flanagan (Ed.), Long-term imprisonment: Policy, science and correctional practice (pp. 3–9). Thousand Oaks: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Flanagan, T. (Ed.). (1995c). Long-term imprisonment: Policy, science and correctional practice. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Flanagan, T. J. (2016). Dealing with long-term confinement. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 8(2), 201–222.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Garland, D. (2000). The culture of high crime societies. British Journal of Criminology, 40(3), 347–375.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Giddens, A. (1991). Modernity and self identity: Self and society in the late modern age. Cambridge: Polity Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Green, A., & McGourlay, C. (2015). The wolf packs in our midst and other products of criminal joint enterprise prosecutions. The Journal of Criminal Law, 74(4), 280–297.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Grounds, A. T. (2005). Understanding the effects of wrongful imprisonment. Crime and Justice, 32, 1–58.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Gunn, J., Nicol, R., Gristwood, J., & Foggitt, R. (1973). Long-term prisoners. British Journal of Criminology, 13(4), 331–340.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heather, N. (1977). Personal illness in “lifers” and the effects of long-term indeterminate sentences. British Journal of Criminology, 17(4), 378–386.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Herbert, S. (2018). Inside or outside? Expanding the narratives about life-sentenced prisoners. Punishment & Society, 20(5), 628–645.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Home Affairs Select Committee. (2009). Knife Crime, HC (2008–9) 7. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/2l6JH95.

  • House of Commons. (1964). November 19 Debate (vol 702, col 612–3). Retrieved from http://bit.ly/2kQtQf1.

  • House of Commons. (1983). November 30 1983 (vol 49, cc 506–507). Retrieved from http://bit.ly/2l6H86Z.

  • House of Lords. (1971). February 17 Debate (vol 315, col 623). Retrieved from http://bit.ly/2mugkxT.

  • House of Lords. (1982). April 28 Debate (vol 429, col 870). Retrieved from http://bit.ly/2m9EDAW.

  • Hulley, S., Crewe, B., & Wright, S. (2016). Re-examining the problems of long-term imprisonment. British Journal of Criminology, 56(4), 769–792.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hulley, S., Crewe, B., & Wright, S. (2019). Making sense of ‘joint enterprise’ for murder: Legal legitimacy or instrumental acquiescence? British Journal of Criminology, 59(6), 1328–1346.

    Google Scholar 

  • Irwin, J. (1970). The felon. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Irwin, J. (2009). Lifers: Seeking redemption in prison. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • James, E. (2003). A life inside. London: Atlantic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jamieson, R., & Grounds, A. (2005). Release and adjustment: Perspectives from studies of wrongly convicted and politically motivated prisoners. In A. Liebling & S. Maruna (Eds.), The effects of imprisonment (pp. 33–65). Cullompton: Willan Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jewkes, Y. (2005). Loss, liminality and the life sentence: Managing identity through a disrupted lifecourse. In A. Liebling & S. Maruna (Eds.), The effects of imprisonment (pp. 366–388). Cullompton: Willan Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, R., & Dobrzanska, A. (2005). Mature coping among life-sentenced inmates: An exploratory study of adjustment dynamics. Corrections Compendium, 30(8–9), 36–38.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, R., & McGunigall-Smith, S. (2008). Life without parole, America’s other death penalty: Notes on life under sentence of death by incarceration. The Prison Journal, 88(2), 328–346.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Justice Select Committee. (2019). Prison population 2022: Planning for the future, HC (2017–19) 16. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/2YLf1JF.

  • Killias, M., Gilliéron, G., Villard, F., & Poglia, C. (2010). How damaging is imprisonment in the long- term? A controlled experiment comparing long-term effects of community service and short custodial sentences on re-offending and social integration. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 6(2), 115–130.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leigey, M. E. (2015). The forgotten men: Serving a life without parole sentence. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leigey, M. E., & Ryder, M. A. (2015). The pains of permanent imprisonment: Examining perceptions of confinement among older life without parole inmates. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 59(7), 726–742.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lempert, L. B. (2016). Women doing life: Gender, punishment and the struggle for identity. New York: NYU Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Liebling, A. (2014). Moral and philosophical problems of long-term imprisonment. Studies in Christian Ethics, 27(3), 258–269.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Liebling, A., & Maruna, S. (2005). Introduction: The effects of imprisonment revisited. In A. Liebling & S. Maruna (Eds.), The effects of imprisonment (pp. 10–32). Cullompton: Willan Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Liebling, A., Arnold, H., & Straub, C. (2011). An exploration of staff-prisoner relationships at HMP Whitemoor: 12 years on. London: Ministry of Justice.

    Google Scholar 

  • Liem, M. (2016). After life imprisonment: Reentry in the era of mass incarceration. New York: NYU Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Liem, M., & Kunst, M. (2013). Is there a recognizable post-incarceration syndrome among released “lifers”? International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 36(3–4), 333–337.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lloyd, M. (2011). Interview: Michael Spurr. Prison Service Journal, 193, 23–28.

    Google Scholar 

  • MacKenzie, D. L., & Goodstein, L. (1985). Long-term incarceration impacts and characteristics of long-term offenders: An empirical analysis. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 12(4), 395–414.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • MacKenzie, D. L., Robinson, J. W., & Campbell, C. S. (1989). Long-term incarceration of female offenders prison adjustment and coping. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 16(2), 223–238.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Mauer, M., King, R. S., & Young, M. C. (2004). The meaning of “life”: Long prison sentences in context. Washington, DC: The Sentencing Project.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ministry of Justice. (2009). Population in custody monthly tables—February 2009: England and Wales (Ministry of Justice Statistics bulletin). London: Ministry of Justice.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ministry of Justice. (2010). Explanatory memorandum to the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (Mandatory life sentence: Determination of minimum term) Order 2010 (No. 197). London: Ministry of Justice.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ministry of Justice. (2013). Story of the prison population: 1993–2012: England and Wales. London: Ministry of Justice.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ministry of Justice. (2019a). Offender management statistics quarterly April–June 2019. London: Ministry of Justice.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ministry of Justice. (2019b). Offender management statistics quarterly: October to December 2018—‘Prison releases 2018’. London: Ministry of Justice.

    Google Scholar 

  • Munn, M., & Bruckert, C. (2013). On the outside: From lengthy imprisonment to lasting freedom. Vancouver and Toronto: UBC Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Donnell, I. (2014). Prisoners, solitude, and time. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ogletree, C. J., & Sarat, A. (Eds.). (2012). Life without parole: America’s new death penalty. New York and London: New York University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Owers, A. (2010, July 13). Valedictory lecture. Westminster Central Hall. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/2mbeIZN.

  • Player, E. (2005). The reduction of women’s imprisonment in England and Wales: Will the reform of short prison sentences help? Punishment & Society, 7(4), 419–439.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Porporino, F. J. (1991). Differences in response to long-term imprisonment: Implications for the management of long-term offenders. Ottawa, Canada: Correctional Service Canada.

    Google Scholar 

  • Press Association. (2009, November). Knife killers will serve minimum 25 year jail term, Jack Straw says. The Guardian.

    Google Scholar 

  • Prison Reform Trust. (2012). Prison: The facts (Bromley Briefings Summer 2012). London: Prison Reform Trust.

    Google Scholar 

  • Radzinowicz, L. (1968). Report of the Advisory Committee on Penal System on the regime for long-term prisoners in conditions of maximum security (The Radzinowicz Report). London: HMSO.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rasch, W. (1981). The effects of indeterminate detention. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 4(3–4), 417–431.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Rhodes, L. A. (2004). Total confinement: Madness and reason in the maximum security prison (Vol. 7). Berkeley, Los Angeles, and London: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Richards, B. (1978). The experience of long-term imprisonment: An exploratory investigation. British Journal of Criminology, 18(2), 162–169.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Sapsford, R. J. (1978). Life-sentence prisoners: Psychological changes during sentence. British Journal of Criminology, 18(2), 128–145.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Sapsford, R. (1983). Life sentence prisoners: Reaction, response and change. London: Open University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schinkel, M. (2014). Punishment as moral communication: The experiences of long-term prisoners. Punishment & Society, 16(5), 578–597.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Seligman, M. E. (1975). Helplessness: On depression, development, and death. New York: W.H. Freeman.

    Google Scholar 

  • Short, R. (1979). The care of long-term prisoners. London: Macmillan Press.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Simon, J. (2007). Governing through crime: How the war on crime transformed American democracy and created a culture of fear. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Toch, H. (2010). “I am not now who I used to be then”: Risk assessment and the maturation of long-term prison inmates. The Prison Journal, 90(1), 4–11.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Travis, J. (2002). Invisible punishment: An instrument of social exclusion. In M. Mauer & M. Chesney-Lind (Eds.), Invisible punishment: The collateral consequences of mass imprisonment (pp. 15–36). New York: The New Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trebilcock, J. (2011). No winners: The reality of short term prison sentences. London: Howard League for Penal Reform.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Zyl Smit, D., & Appleton, C. (2019). Life imprisonment: A global human rights analysis. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Walker, S., & Worrall, A. (2000). Life as a woman: The gendered pains of indeterminate imprisonment. Prison Service Journal, 132, 27–37.

    Google Scholar 

  • Warr, J. (2008). Personal reflections on prison staff. In J. Bennett, B. Crewe & A. Wahadin (Eds.), Understanding prison staff (pp. 17–29). Cullompton: Willan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weekes, J. R. (1995). Long-term offenders in Canada. In T. Flanagan (Ed.), Long-term imprisonment: Policy, science and correctional practice (pp. 22–28). Thousand Oaks: Sage.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Zamble, E. (2016). Behavior and adaptation in long-term prison inmates. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 19(4), 409–425.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Zamble, E., & Porporino, F. J. (1988). Coping, behaviour and adaptation in prison inmates. New York: Springer Verlag.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

    Ben Crewe & Susie Hulley

  2. Department of Law and Criminology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey, UK

    Serena Wright

Authors
  1. Ben Crewe
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Susie Hulley
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Serena Wright
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ben Crewe .

Copyright information

© 2020 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Crewe, B., Hulley, S., Wright, S. (2020). Introduction. In: Life Imprisonment from Young Adulthood. Palgrave Studies in Prisons and Penology. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-56601-0_1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-56601-0_1

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-137-56600-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-137-56601-0

  • eBook Packages: Law and CriminologyLaw and Criminology (R0)