The Prison as a Space of Non-life: How Does a Typical Prison Sentence Intervene in What Really Matters to People?

This article argues that imprisonment creates time that does not matter. It is based on longitudinal interviews conducted with 35 men and women sentenced to typical prison sentences in England. It argues that some responded to this situation by trying to treat the institution as a space of temporary removal and then return to their unblemished lives after release. Others tried to use the prison as a space for reinvention, but it was too disconnected from their biographies for this change to endure. The article then calls for a new understanding of the prison as an institution. The prison is a space of non-life, and as such it can only be understood in the context of that which surrounds it.

Automated summary

This article argues that imprisonment creates a period of time that lacks significance. Based on longitudinal interviews conducted with 35 individuals sentenced to typical prison sentences in England, the article emphasizes that some people view prison as a temporary space for removal and envision a return to their normal lives after release, while others try to reinvent themselves within the prison environment, but fail to sustain the change due to the disconnect from their personal experiences. Therefore, the article calls for a new understanding of prisons as an institution, highlighting their non-life nature and the importance of surrounding context.