Life Imprisonment Effects

EFFECTS OF LIFE IMROSONMENT It is essential to consider the potentially detrimental effects of life imprisonment in order to understand the full implications of penal policy in that area. To comprehend some of the psychological and sociological problems of indeterminate long-term incarceration is to make some progress towards a better understanding of the complexity of the issues involved in life imprisonment. Research on the socio-psychological aspects of the effects of imprisonment has increased. Although there is no unanimity in the scientific literature about the "pains of imprisonment" and their consequences, 12 it is commonly agreed that there are certain detrimental effects of long- term imprisonment.

A. Psychological effects

Research

Such consequences are perhaps inherent to imprisonment in general, but they can be intensified as a result of the way in which life sentences are managed. To attempt to comprehend the manner in which such effects manifest themselves and to ask why they can be so detrimental to a prisoner 's personality is to pose fundamental questions about the philosophy of life imprisonment.Social isolation is usually an unavoidable result of long- term imprisonment. Offenders, having been removed from their social environment, tend to lose outside contacts. The loss of relationships with family and friends is probably the most serious deprivation of long-term imprisonment.17 As a sentenced person 's normal pattern of social interaction is so abruptly interrupted for an indeterminate period, contacts with the outside world soon become

Long-term imprisonment is often a slow process of social deformation. Most types of social stimulation are usually absent. In a recent study, it was found that, because of their environmental setting, long-term prisoners reported many more problems than prisoners who were newly sentenced. Negative reactions to their surroundings actually increased as they spent more time in the prison environment.18 If life sentences are not to socially deform, then methods of social stimulation must be recognized as part of the reintegration process. Opportunities for vocational training, facilities for education and recreational programmes could all provide such stimulation.A study of female life-sentence prisoners 14 found that they felt that they were increasingly unable to maintain close relationships with their families and friends and were powerless to provide support when their families needed them. For most of the women, the process of losing confidence in themselves had begun well before prison, but life inside only served to exacerbate and reinforce a derogatory status. Their fears of psychological deterioration were centred on sociological factors such as the dread of institutionalization, loss of identity and an inability to conceive of a future after prison. An additional problem that such women face is that their punishment may deprive them of the opportunity to have