NCJ Number
128212
Journal
Prison Journal Volume: 80 Issue: 1 Dated: (Spring-Summer 1990) Pages: 96-108
Date Published
1990
Length
13 pages
Annotation
Data collected from interviews with 82 convicted English and Welsh murderers who had received conditional release dates, the prison files on these lifers, and interviews with corrections personnel were used to compare Prison Department management policy for life sentence prisoners with actual practice.
Abstract
Some features of the management policy examined in the study are career plans, transfer policy and risk assessment, and training and education programs. Prisoners were asked about their perceptions of the justification of their life sentences; several staff members expressed concern about the length of imprisonment of some lifers. Current policy includes a Pre-Release Employment Scheme, which was also assessed by the offenders. Many of the lifers felt that good conduct in prison was irrelevant to the early release process. These comments reflected a general distrust of the penal system and many staff sympathized with the long-term offenders. Comments were elicited concerning housing arrangements and whether lifers should be concentrated or dispersed among the general prison population. Some implications for the future, as the number of long-term offenders and the lengths of sentence served increase, involve early career planning and the role of corrections staff. 26 notes and 10 references