NCJ Number
112325
Journal
Social Justice Volume: 15 Issue: 1 Dated: (Spring 1988) Pages: 72-82
Date Published
1988
Length
11 pages
Annotation
These descriptions of some inmates' experiences and adjustments in prison show that some have found an emotional safety and freedom in prison they had not experienced in the community.
Abstract
Long-term imprisonment forces many inmates to struggle to find a meaning and worth for their lives in the prison milieu. Some are sensitized to their humanity by coming in touch with previously hidden grief. Others are uplifted by their capacity to befriend and care for a pet or to participate in a human friendship that is not sexually exploitative. In one case, an inmate was nurtured by fantasies of an ideal home. Prison can be a place where persons shunned by society find a sense of worth and meaning in their daily prison life. For many inmates life on the outside involved abuse and self-destructive coping strategies. Although prison is a harsh environment, it can be a time of reparation and discovery of potential for growth and change. 4 references.