the lived sentence

392 Pages·2015·2.18 MB·English

THE LIVED SENTENCE

MAGGIE HALL

A thesis in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy

UNSW
School of Law
Faculty of Law

March 2013
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PLEASE TYPE
THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES
Thesis/Dissertation Sheet

Surname or Family name: Hall
First name: Maggie Other name/s:
Abbreviation for degree as given in the University calendar: PhD
School: Law Faculty: Law
Title: The Lived Sentence

Abstract 350 words maximum: (PLEASE TYPE)
Specific expectations of the sentenced person arise from the aims of sentencing, vague and philosophical though they are. Far from being a direct
process of implementation, the sentence is mediated by correctional practices underpinned by a managerialist, risk-averse habitus. Considerations of
risk and rehabilitation weave together to produce a focus on offence-specific programs, often at the expense of equally valid, rehabilitative pathways
such as work and education. Yet the fundamental but unarticulated expectation that prisoners will undergo and demonstrate a process of internal
transformation exemplified by the requirement of remorse, continues throughout the sentence. Remorse, it is argued, is foundational to the
assessments of transformative success made by correctional staff throughout, but most intensively, at the end of the sentence.Determining the
relationship between the sentencing process and the dominant discourses and practices of imprisonment in NSW requires attention to the
experiences of the subjects of criminal justice dispositions. Semi-structured interviews with 30 medium to long term male prisoners who were more
than half way through their prison sentences were conducted. Their experiences of the in- court sentencing process and the incidents of
imprisonment are analysed in the context of the managerialist, risk obsessed landscape of modern criminal justice practice in NSW. The subjective
expectations implicit in sentencing, imprisonment and parole are contextualised in the way these prisoners experience the sentence. Perhaps not
surprisingly, prisoners framed their stories overwhelmingly in interpersonal terms. Their responses highlight the importance of relationships with other
prisoners, staff and their families and friends as a foundational issue in the experience of the sentence.
While it is recognised that no direct instrumental link exists between the largely philosophical aims of sentencing and the practice of imprisonment, it i
s argued that implicit expectations of personal, subjective transformation persist in the substratum of the sentence only to re-emerge as primary
considerations at the point of eligibility for release. The gap between these expectations, (both of and by the prisoner) and the reality of imprisonment
determines the extent to which the prisoner can be co- opted into the project of his own redemption.

Declaration relating to disposition of project thesis/dissertation

I hereby grant to the University of New South Wales or its agents the right to archive and to make available my thesis or dissertation in whole or in
part in the University libraries in all forms of media, now or here after known, subject to the provisions of the Copyright A ct 1968. I retain all
property rights, such as patent rights. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis or dissertation.

I also authorise University Microfilms to use the 350 word abstract of my thesis in Dissertation Abstracts International (thi s is applicable t o doctoral
theses only).

…………………………………………………………… ……………………………………..……………… ……….……………………...…….…
Signature Witness Date
The University recognises that there may be exceptional circumstances requiring restrictions on copying or conditions on use. Requests for
restriction for a period of up to 2 years must be made in writing. Requests for a longer period of restriction may be conside red in exceptional
circumstances and require the approval of the Dean of Graduate Research.

FOR OFFICE USE ONLY Date of completion of requirements for Award:

THIS SHEET IS TO BE GLUED TO THE INSIDE FRONT COVER OF THE THESIS

3
PLEASE TYPE
THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES
Thesis/Dissertation Sheet

Surname or Family name: Hall
First name: Maggie Other name/s:
Abbreviation for degree as given in the University calendar: PhD
School: Law Faculty: Law
Title: The Lived Sentence

Abstract 350 words maximum: (PLEASE TYPE)
Specific expectations of the sentenced person arise from the aims of sentencing, vague and philosophical though they are. Far from being a direct
process of implementation, the sentence is mediated by correctional practices underpinned by a managerialist, risk-averse habitus. Considerations of
risk and rehabilitation weave together to produce a focus on offence-specific programs, often at the expense of equally valid, rehabilitative pathways
such as work and education. Yet the fundamental but unarticulated expectation that prisoners will undergo and demonstrate a process of internal
transformation exemplified by the requirement of remorse, continues throughout the sentence. Remorse, it is argued, is foundational to the
assessments of transformative success made by correctional staff throughout, but most intensively, at the end of the sentence.Determining the
relationship between the sentencing process and the dominant discourses and practices of imprisonment in NSW requires attention to the
experiences of the subjects of criminal justice dispositions. Semi-structured interviews with 30 medium to long term male prisoners who were more
than half way through their prison sentences were conducted. Their experiences of the in- court sentencing process and the incidents of
imprisonment are analysed in the context of the managerialist, risk obsessed landscape of modern criminal justice practice in NSW. The subjective
expectations implicit in sentencing, imprisonment and parole are contextualised in the way these prisoners experience the sentence. Perhaps not
surprisingly, prisoners framed their stories overwhelmingly in interpersonal terms. Their responses highlight the importance of relationships with other
prisoners, staff and their families and friends as a foundational issue in the experience of the sentence.
While it is recognised that no direct instrumental link exists between the largely philosophical aims of sentencing and the practice of imprisonment, it i
s argued that implicit expectations of personal, subjective transformation persist in the substratum of the sentence only to re-emerge as primary
considerations at the point of eligibility for release. The gap between these expectations, (both of and by the prisoner) and the reality of imprisonment
determines the extent to which the prisoner can be co- opted into the project of his own redemption.

Declaration relating to disposition of project thesis/dissertation

I hereby grant to the University of New South Wales or its agents the right to archive and to make available my thesis or dissertation in whole or in
part in the University libraries in all forms of media, now or here after known, subject to the provisions of the Copyright A ct 1968. I retain all
property rights, such as patent rights. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis or dissertation.

I also authorise University Microfilms to use the 350 word abstract of my thesis in Dissertation Abstracts International (thi s is applicable t o doctoral
theses only).

…………………………………………………………… ……………………………………..……………… ……….……………………...…….…
Signature Witness Date
The University recognises that there may be exceptional circumstances requiring restrictions on copying or conditions on use. Requests for
restriction for a period of up to 2 years must be made in writing. Requests for a longer period of restriction may be conside red in exceptional
circumstances and require the approval of the Dean of Graduate Research.

4
FOR OFFICE USE ONLY Date of completion of requirements for Award:

THIS SHEET IS TO BE GLUED TO THE INSIDE FRONT COVER OF THE THESIS

Table of Contents
Abstract ........................................................................................................ 13
Chapter 1 - Introduction ............................................................................... 15
I. Overview of thesis ............................................................................................. 15
II. Thesis Outline.................................................................................................... 20
(a) Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................... 20
(b) Chapter 2: Methodology .................................................................................. 20
(c) Chapter 3: Socio-political context of sentencing and imprisonment ......... 22
(d) Chapter 4: Theorising sentencing: What do the aims of sentencing have to
do with the sentence as served? ................................................................ 23
(e) Chapter 5: Experiencing imprisonment: Expectations of transformation 25
(f) Chapter 6: Managerialism and the responsible prisoner: The way the
system communicates with the prisoner: ................................................. 28
(g) Chapter 7: Relational aspects of prisoner experience................................... 30
(h) Chapter 8: Rehabilitation and Risk ................................................................. 31
Chapter 2 - Methodology ............................................................................. 35
I. Characteristics of the Research area – Theoretical, Organisational and
Political context ........................................................................................... 35
II. Research Plan ..................................................................................................... 39
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(a) The research setting .......................................................................................... 39
(i) Ethical issues ...................................................................................................... 39
(ii) Practical issues ................................................................................................... 40
b) Research questions ............................................................................................ 44
(c) Methods ............................................................................................................. 44
i) Legal analysis ....................................................................................................... 45
ii) Policy and program analysis.............................................................................. 45
iii) Prisoner interviews ........................................................................................... 45
(d) Data Analysis .................................................................................................... 49
(e) Thematic analysis- development of theory .................................................... 51
(f) Quality/Validity ................................................................................................ 53
II. Theoretical and Methodological Perspectives ............................................... 55
(a) An ethnographic approach .............................................................................. 55
(c) Reflexivity and the position of the researcher. .............................................. 60
(d) Feminism as methodology .............................................................................. 62
III. Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 65
Chapter 3 - The Socio-Political Context of Imprisonment in N.S.W ........... 66
I. Introduction ........................................................................................................ 66
II. Major Enquiries ................................................................................................. 68
(a)Report of the Royal Commission into New South Wales Prisons (Nagle
Report) .......................................................................................................... 68
(b)Women in Prison Task Force (1985). ............................................................. 69
(c) Richmond Report (Department of Health 1983) ......................................... 69
(d) The Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (RCIADC) .. 70
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(e)Inquiry into the Reasons for the Increases in the Prison Population
(Legislative Council of NSW 2001) .......................................................... 71
III. Popular Sensibilities and Penal Politics ......................................................... 72
IV. Expansion of the prison estate ...................................................................... 76
a) Imprisonment Rates........................................................................................... 76
b) Prison Construction .......................................................................................... 76
V. Transmission/extension of penal relations .................................................... 77
VI. Evaluation and Accountability ..................................................................... 80
VII. Legislative Changes ........................................................................................ 83
(a) Sentencing .......................................................................................................... 84
(b) Bail ...................................................................................................................... 86
(c) Parole .................................................................................................................. 87
VIII. Risk + ‘what works’ = a limited version of rehabilitation ....................... 89
IX. Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 92
Chapter 4 - Theorising Sentencing .............................................................. 95
I. Introduction ........................................................................................................ 95
(a) Sentencing as a lived experience ..................................................................... 96
(b) Courts and prisons ......................................................................................... 101
(c) The subjectivity of the sentencers ................................................................ 103
II. Sentencing in NSW ......................................................................................... 104
III. The aims of sentencing in NSW .................................................................. 107
(a) Punishment ...................................................................................................... 109
(b) Prevention of crime by deterrence. .............................................................. 112
(c) Protection of the community. ....................................................................... 115
(d) Rehabilitation .................................................................................................. 116
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(e) Accountability. ................................................................................................. 121
(f) Denunciation. .................................................................................................. 123
(g) Recognise harm done to victim (and community) ..................................... 126
IV. Risk and NSW courts .................................................................................... 128
(a) Risky subjects – sex offenders ....................................................................... 130
(b) Preventive detention of sex offenders in NSW- Advance guard for risk-
technology-reliant judges? ........................................................................ 131
(c) Cementing them in their cells – Risk as a cipher for punishment and
denunciation .............................................................................................. 134
(d) Sentencing and risk – Freiberg’s ‘guerrilla judges’ ...................................... 136
(e) Sentencing and risk - Case law ...................................................................... 139
V. Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 141
Chapter 5 – The Experience of Being Sentenced ....................................... 143
I. Introduction ...................................................................................................... 143
II. Reasons for judgment and remarks on sentence ......................................... 146
III. Prisoners and sentence comments/remarks .............................................. 147
(a) Only a number? ............................................................................................... 148
(b) In no state to listen ......................................................................................... 150
(c) Strangers in a strange land ............................................................................. 151
(d) Condemning the person, not the act ........................................................... 152
(e) The turning point – the power of positive comments ............................... 154
(f) Getting sentence comments .......................................................................... 154
IV. Remorse in criminal justice ........................................................................... 156
(a) The inconvenience of innocence .................................................................. 164
(b) The Parole Authority and innocence ........................................................... 166
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(c) The Elephant in the room: the relationship between ‘truth’ and
redemption and the unbearable unfairness of the privileged narrative
..................................................................................................................... 167
IV. Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 170
Chapter 6 - Managerialism, Discipline and the ‘Responsible Prisoner’ ..... 172
I. Introduction ...................................................................................................... 172
II. Managerialism and the Department of CSNSW NSW .............................. 173
III. Prison as management of bodies ................................................................. 178
(a) Processes of sorting and classification ......................................................... 179
(b) ‘Bound and gagged’ (Leader 2007) ............................................................... 181
(c) Risky, secretive systems .................................................................................. 184
IV. Processes of sorting, classification and management ................................ 188
(a) The rules........................................................................................................... 188
(b) Unofficial processes of sorting ..................................................................... 190
(c) Classification .................................................................................................... 191
Diagnosis ............................................................................................................... 197
(e) Movements and the transportation of inmates – The ‘tour of the State’ 199
(f) Lockdowns ....................................................................................................... 204
V. Discipline, Resistance, Compliance and Punishment ................................. 204
VI. Special regimes ............................................................................................... 213
(a) AA,-‘public interest inmates’ Reg. Cl. 277(1) (e) (OPM 18.1.) .................. 214
(b) Protective custody ......................................................................................... 216
VII. Case Management, Throughcare and SORC ............................................ 217
(a) Case Management and Through care ........................................................... 218
VIII. Individualization and the responsible prisoner ....................................... 225
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IX Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 229
Chapter 7 - Relational aspects of imprisonment ........................................ 231
I. Introduction ...................................................................................................... 231
II. The relational aspects of life in prison- Conceptions of prison as
‘community’ ............................................................................................... 233
Relationships with others .................................................................................... 237
(a) Prison officers and prisoners ......................................................................... 237
Taking it personal and playing games ................................................................ 239
(b) Private prison or new opportunity for change? .......................................... 240
(d) Prisoners and prisoners ................................................................................. 244
Drugs -“If you’ve got the powder you’ve got the power” .............................. 250
(g) Prisoners and others – visits and family, contact with the outside world 253
III. Dimensions of Personal Identity ................................................................. 259
(a) Sexuality ........................................................................................................... 260
(b) Ethnicity .......................................................................................................... 264
Officially sanctioned racial sorting ..................................................................... 266
The futility of imprisonment for non-citizens .................................................. 269
(c) An indigenous domain ................................................................................... 271
IV. Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 273
Chapter 8 - Rehabilitation .......................................................................... 276
I. Introduction ...................................................................................................... 276
II What does it mean? .......................................................................................... 279
(a) Rehabilitation as subjective transformation ................................................. 282
Is it possible in prison? ........................................................................................ 283
Remorse and rehabilitation ................................................................................. 285
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