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Prison As a Rite of Passage

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Prison As a Rite of Passage THE WEIGHT OF THE GAVEL: PRISON AS A RITE OF PASSAGE by EDWARD L. W. GREEN B.A., Eastern Kentucky University, 2005 M.S., Eastern Kentucky University, 2008 AN ABSTRACT OF A DISSERTATION submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work College of Arts and Sciences KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY Manhattan, Kansas 2016 Abstract This qualitative study draws from 54 interviews with “lifers”—those serving 20 years or more—from three correctional facilities across Kansas; it addresses the stark void in criminological literature about prison culture in the context of late-modern penality. This dissertation explores identity transformation of inmates serving a life sentence, proposing that incarceration represents a new rite of passage for 2.22 million citizens in the US. This inquiry utilizes the concept of liminality to capture the “betwixt and between” component of significant life transitions such as being handed a life sentence. Extending Jewkes' (2002) work on liminality, the study advances and supports the notion of a suspended liminality, an elongated vulnerability to one’s sense of self, which, for those serving a long prison sentence, generally occurs during the first five years. Eventually, some lifers are able to rebuild social networks. The process of identity transition reflects an interstitial drift between suspended liminality and prisonization, contingent upon social support, sense of belonging, and forms of hope. Reconsidering the notion of a permanent “social death,” this study provides evidence of a social purgatory, yielding a period of chaos and confusion in which the self is in turmoil, engaged in a battle to find meaning and purpose. The analysis employs group interviews, multiple on-site observations, field notes, and a night in solitary confinement; three inmates assisted in the interview design. This dissertation contributes a “thick description” of contemporary life in US prisons and transitions through long sentences that may present barriers to successful reentry. THE WEIGHT OF THE GAVEL: PRISON AS A RITE OF PASSAGE by EDWARD L. W. GREEN B.A., Eastern Kentucky University, 2005 M.S., Eastern Kentucky University, 2008 A DISSERTATION submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work College of Arts and Sciences KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY Manhattan, Kansas 2016 Approved by: Major Professor L. Susan Williams Copyright EDWARD L. W. GREEN 2016 Abstract (copy) This qualitative study draws from 54 interviews with “lifers”—those serving 20 years or more—from three correctional facilities across Kansas; it addresses the stark void in criminological literature about prison culture in the context of late-modern penality. This dissertation explores identity transformation of inmates serving a life sentence, proposing that incarceration represents a new rite of passage for 2.22 million citizens in the US. This inquiry utilizes the concept of liminality to capture the “betwixt and between” component of significant life transitions such as being handed a life sentence. Extending Jewkes' (2002) work on liminality, the study advances and supports the notion of a suspended liminality, an elongated vulnerability to one’s sense of self, which, for those serving a long prison sentence, generally occurs during the first five years. Eventually, some lifers are able to rebuild social networks. The process of identity transition reflects an interstitial drift between suspended liminality and prisonization, contingent upon social support, sense of belonging, and forms of hope. Reconsidering the notion of a permanent “social death,” this study provides evidence of a social purgatory, yielding a period of chaos and confusion in which the self is in turmoil, engaged in a battle to find meaning and purpose. The analysis employs group interviews, multiple on-site observations, field notes, and a night in solitary confinement; three inmates assisted in the interview design. This dissertation contributes a “thick description” of contemporary life in US prisons and transitions through long sentences that may present barriers to successful reentry. Table of Contents List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ ix List of Tables .................................................................................................................................. x Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ xi Dedication ..................................................................................................................................... xii Preface.......................................................................................................................................... xiii Chapter 1 - Introduction: Prison as a Rite of Passage ..................................................................... 1 Identity and Stigma ..................................................................................................................... 5 Rituals, Rites of Passage, and Liminality ................................................................................... 6 Liminality as a Theoretical Contribution to Criminology ...................................................... 7 Conceptualizing the Weight of the Gavel ............................................................................. 11 Research Questions ............................................................................................................... 14 Conclusion and Summary of the Following Chapters .............................................................. 14 Chapter 2 - Literature Review: Prison, Identity, and Liminality .................................................. 18 Brief Background of Prison Research ...................................................................................... 21 Theoretical Foundations ........................................................................................................... 24 Identity in Sociology ............................................................................................................. 28 Liminality and Identity ......................................................................................................... 30 Governing Through Prison ................................................................................................... 34 Total Institutions ................................................................................................................... 38 Carceral Habitus ...................................................................................................................... 39 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 42 vi Chapter 3 - Methodology: Barred Ethnography ........................................................................... 44 Thick Description as Evidence ................................................................................................. 45 Background and Focus .............................................................................................................. 46 Gatekeeping and Methodologies .............................................................................................. 49 Field Sites .............................................................................................................................. 51 Target Population and Sample .............................................................................................. 54 Concepts and Measurement .................................................................................................. 60 Data Collection ..................................................................................................................... 65 Observation ....................................................................................................................... 65 Interviews .......................................................................................................................... 65 Field Notes ........................................................................................................................ 67 Focus Groups .................................................................................................................... 68 Participant Observation ..................................................................................................... 68 Closing Comments .................................................................................................................... 71 Chapter 4 - Analysis: The Long and Short of a Life Sentence ..................................................... 73 Sample Descriptives .............................................................................................................. 76 Five Words and a Sense of Prison ........................................................................................ 78 Weight of the Gavel .................................................................................................................. 81 The Moment of Sentencing ..................................................................................................
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