Doing Indefinite Time: An Ethnography of Long-Term Imprisonment in Switzerland

363 Pages·2022·7.566 MB·English

by  Irene Marti

PALGRAVE STUDIES IN
PRISONS AND PENOLOGY
Doing Indefinite Time
An Ethnography of Long-Term
Imprisonment in Switzerland
Irene Marti
Palgrave Studies in Prisons and Penology
Series Editors
Ben Crewe, Institute of Criminology, University of
Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
Yvonne Jewkes, Social & Policy Sciences, University of
Bath, Bath, UK
Thomas Ugelvik, Faculty of Law, University of Oslo, Oslo,
Norway
This is a unique and innovative series, the first of its kind dedicated
entirely to prison scholarship. At a historical point in which the prison
population has reached an all-time high, the series seeks to analyse
the form, nature and consequences of incarceration and related forms
of punishment. Palgrave Studies in Prisons and Penology provides an
important forum for burgeoning prison research across the world.
Series Advisory Board
Anna Eriksson (Monash University),
Andrew M. Jefferson (DIGNITY - Danish Institute Against Torture),
Shadd Maruna (Rutgers University),
Jonathon Simon (Berkeley Law, University of California) and
Michael Welch (Rutgers University).
Irene Marti
Doing Indefinite
Time
An Ethnography of Long-Term
Imprisonment in Switzerland
Irene Marti
Institute for Penal Law and Criminology
University of Bern
Bern, Switzerland
ISSN 2753-0604 ISSN 2753-0612 (electronic)
Palgrave Studies in Prisons and Penology
ISBN 978-3-031-12589-8 ISBN 978-3-031-12590-4 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-12590-4
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2023. This book is an open access publication.
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Cover credit: Photo taken by a prisoner in JVA Lenzburg
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Acknowledgements
This book is based on my doctoral thesis, which would never have been
possible without the support and guidance of various people. I would
like to thank them all.
First, I would like to thank Marcel Ruf (JVA Lenzburg ), and Andreas
Naegeli (JVA Pöschwies) for opening the doors to me and generously
supporting my plans inside these prisons. Special thanks go to all those
who allowed me, for some time, to participate in their daily lives in
prison—as inhabitants or as staff members—and who shared their expe-
riences, feelings, and thoughts with me. I would also like to thank the
representatives from the penal enforcement authorities who made them-
selves available for interviews, and am deeply appreciative of the Swiss
National Science Foundation (SNSF) for its financial support for the
research project underlying this book.
Furthermore, I express my gratitude to those who played an impor-
tant role in the creation and evaluation of my thesis. First and foremost,
I thank Prof Ellen Hertz of the University of Neuchâtel, who has been
an inspiration to me since my time as an MA student, for her always
nuanced and constructive comments and for keeping me on track. I am
v
vi Acknowledgements
particularly grateful to PD Dr Ueli Hostettler of the University of Bern,
who introduced me to the world of prison research and has supported
my work for many years now by providing me with advice, encour-
agement, and opportunities to gain the experience that allowed me to
develop further in academia. I feel honoured that I had both of you as
my co-supervisors. Special thanks also are extended to my committee
members for their inspiring and critical remarks and their careful eval-
uation of my thesis: Prof Manuela Ivone P. da Cunha of the University
of Minho, Prof André Kuhn of the University of Neuchâtel, and Prof
Dominique Moran of the University of Birmingham, who also provided
me with very generous support during my stay as visiting scholar at the
University of Birmingham.
Finally, I would like to thank current and former members of the
Prison Research Group at the University of Bern, namely Anna Isen-
hardt, Conor Mangold, Marina Richter, Barbara Ryser, and Christopher
Young, for always having a ready ear for me and for our countless
stimulating discussions and exchanges. My sincere appreciation also to
my parents and my brother, as well as my friends and colleagues, who
offered me insight and encouragement during this time. These include
Barbara Born, Li Duenner, Ana and Christian Ghasarian, Alain Müller,
Rahel Müller, Willi Nafzger, Sarah Sägesser, Isabelle Schläpfer, Isabelle
Schmied, and Marion Schulze. In particular, I would like to thank
Marc Tadorian for his patient and wide-ranging emotional, intellectual,
and practical support and encouragement along the way—I am deeply
grateful to share my life with you, Charlot and Clay.
Contents
1 Introduction 1
2 Indefinite Confinement in Switzerland 47
3 Space, Time, Embodiment 95
4 In the Prison Cell 111
5 At Work 187
6 During Leisure Time 235
7 Conclusion 329
Index 347
vii
List of Figures
Fig. 2.1 Average number of inmates sentenced according to Art.
64 SCC or Art. 59 SCC (1993–2018) (Source Author,
based on data from the Swiss Federal Statistical Office
[04.11.2019]) 51
Fig. 2.2 Release of inmates sentenced under Art. 64 SCC
(1984–2018) (Source Author, based on data
from the Swiss Federal Statistical Office [04.11.2019]) 56
Fig. 2.3 Key actors in the enforcement of indefinite confinement
(Source Author’s own graph) 59
Fig. 3.1 The prison’s daily routine (Source Author) 99
Fig. 4.1 An empty prison cell (Source Photo by Andreas Moser) 116
Fig. 4.2 A glance of the ‘free world’ through the cell’s window
(Source Photo by a prisoner) 125
Fig. 4.3 Feeling ‘too close’ to the outside community (Source
Photo by Irene Marti) 126
Fig. 4.4 A homely furnished prison cell (Source Photo
by Andreas Moser) 138
Fig. 4.5 Plants in a prisoner’s cell (Source Photo by a prisoner) 139
Fig. 4.6 Personalization of the cell through decoration (Source
Photo by a prisoner) 139
ix
x ListofFigures
Fig. 4.7 A prisoner’s ‘kitchen’ (Source Photo by a prisoner) 140
Fig. 4.8 The computer: For many prisoners the most important
tool for distraction (Source Photo by Irene Marti) 140
Fig. 5.1 Scaffolds installed on the prison grounds (Source Photo
by a prisoner) 199
Fig. 5.2 Prison corridors (Source Photos by a prisoner) 201
Fig. 5.3 A prisoner’s workplace or a space ‘not looking like
prison’ (Source Photo by a prisoner) 202
Fig. 5.4 In the prison’s printing plant (Source Photo
by a prisoner) 202
Fig. 5.5 Working with ‘familiar equipment’ (Source Photo
by a prisoner) 203
Fig. 5.6 A glance out of the window: Watching the vans arriving
from the outside world (Source Photo by a prisoner) 210
Fig. 5.7 Access to spaces of authority: The staff canteen (Source
Photo by a prisoner) 221
Fig. 5.8 Access to spaces of authority: The place where prison
staff spend the night (Source Photo by a prisoner) 222
Fig. 5.9 An ‘untouched place’ (Source Photo by a prisoner) 222
Fig. 5.10 A ‘simple meadow’ within the prison walls (Source
Photo by Irene Marti) 225
Fig. 6.1 The courtyards in the Strafanstalt at JVA Lenzburg
(Source Google Maps) 244
Fig. 6.2 The courtyards for ill and elderly prisoners
in the Zentralgefängnis at JVA Lenzburg (Source
Google Maps) 245
Fig. 6.3 The courtyard in the AGE at JVA Pöschwies (Source
Google Maps) 246
Fig. 6.4 The wall or the chapel: ‘you can see what you want
to see’ (Source Photo taken by a prisoner) 251
Fig. 6.5 Plants in the courtyard: ‘the prison is
not only about walls’ (Source Photo by a prisoner) 251
Fig. 6.6 A prisoner’s tree in the courtyard (Source Photo
by a prisoner) 253
Fig. 6.7 In the courtyard: being close to the outside community
(Source Photo by a prisoner) 254
Fig. 6.8 The courtyard: a ‘little piece of freedom’ (Source Photo
by a prisoner) 256