After the Sentence: The Family’s Way of Dealing with the Children and the Surroundings

Abstract

The remand prisoner’s situation is clarified — for better or worse — after a sentence is passed. An often agonising waiting time is over, and in that sense, it can be a relief when the verdict is passed. But the expectations of the family and the prisoner will of course also shape the family’s emotions — were they expecting an acquittal, a short or perhaps a long sentence? And what was the result? For some, the verdict will mean “an end of all hope”.¹