TY - JOUR
T1 - “Living with life”: Experiences of families of people serving a life sentence in Western Australia
AU - Tubex, Hilde
AU - Gately, Natalie
PY - 2024/6
Y1 - 2024/6
N2 - This paper contributes to the growing body of scholarship related to the impact of imprisonment on families, from the particular perspective of parents, siblings and other close relatives of people serving a life sentence. We argue that those family members are often overlooked in research and service provision, while bearing the burden of the association with the offender. This is particularly problematic for relatives of life sentenced prisoners, having to cope with the seriousness of the offence, and the uncertainty of the perspectives of release. Based on 17 interviews conducted in Western Australia, we discuss family members’ confrontation with and experiences throughout the criminal justice system. We report on how they manage to “live with life” and which coping mechanisms they developed. Our findings call for more investment into the matter, to generate a scholarship for a better understanding of and supporting initiatives for those close relatives.
AB - This paper contributes to the growing body of scholarship related to the impact of imprisonment on families, from the particular perspective of parents, siblings and other close relatives of people serving a life sentence. We argue that those family members are often overlooked in research and service provision, while bearing the burden of the association with the offender. This is particularly problematic for relatives of life sentenced prisoners, having to cope with the seriousness of the offence, and the uncertainty of the perspectives of release. Based on 17 interviews conducted in Western Australia, we discuss family members’ confrontation with and experiences throughout the criminal justice system. We report on how they manage to “live with life” and which coping mechanisms they developed. Our findings call for more investment into the matter, to generate a scholarship for a better understanding of and supporting initiatives for those close relatives.
KW - Life imprisonment, prisoners’ families, prison, parole, indeterminate sentences
U2 - 10.1177/26338076231214554
DO - 10.1177/26338076231214554
M3 - Article
SN - 0004-8658
VL - 57
SP - 203
EP - 220
JO - The Journal of Criminology
JF - The Journal of Criminology
IS - 2
ER -