Women Doing Life: Gender, Punishment and the Struggle for Identity

320 Pages·2016·2.061 MB·English

by  Lora Bex Lempert

Women Doing Life
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Women Doing Life
Gender, Punishment, and the Struggle for Identity
Lora Bex Lempert
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS
New York and London
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS
New York and London
www.nyupress.org
© 2016 by New York University
All rights reserved
References to Internet websites (URLs) were accurate at the time of writing. Neither the
author nor New York University Press is responsible for URLs that may have expired or
changed since the manuscript was prepared.
ISBN: 978-1-4798-6603-8 (cloth)
ISBN: 978-1-4798-2705-3 (paper)
For Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data, please contact the
Library of Congress.
New York University Press books are printed on acid-free paper, and their binding materials
are chosen for strength and durability. We strive to use environmentally responsible suppli-
ers and materials to the greatest extent possible in publishing our books.
Manufactured in the United States of America
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Also available as an ebook
This book is dedicated to
Patricia Caruso,
Michigan Department of Corrections Director,
2003–2011;
Linda,
who died in prison before the study completed
but whose words live on in these pages;
and
the 72 life-serving women who trusted me to convey
their experiences of imprisonment.
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Contents
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xiii
1. The Life Imprisonment of Women in America: Gender,
Punishment, and Agency 1
2. Carmela: “Blurred Boundaries” 38
3. Beginning the Prison Journey 49
4. Ann and Crystal: Juvenile Lifers as “Minnows in
a Shark Tank” 84
5. Actively Doing Life 95
6. Desiree: A Journey toward Self-Actualization 135
7. Correctional Officers or “Us” vs. “Them”: Preserving and
Challenging the Binary 149
8. Eating the Life-Sentence Elephant: “One Day at a Time” 182
9. Candace: “God Is My Answer” 226
10. The Way Forward: Policy Solutions 239
Notes 259
References 277
Index 293
About the Author 305
vii
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Preface
It’s late fall in Michigan. The skies are overcast and gray, heavily blan-
keted in cloud cover that blocks the sun. I hear the Canadian geese,
honking loudly and defecating freely, before I see them. They popu-
late the small pond outside of the double barbed-wire perimeter fence
that surrounds the only women’s prison in the state. Aside from the life
at the pond, which is really an overflow basin, the prison grounds are
bleak. Unlike many of the men’s facilities where walkways are lined with
golden yellow marigolds, purple pansies, yellow and white daisies, and
black-eyed Susans, and where, after six months of clear conduct, men
can request three-by-four-foot garden plots for growing their own fruits,
vegetables, or flowers, the women’s prison has none of the soul-soothing
color and normality of those floral displays. It is the warden’s choice to
maintain the stark, concrete-block institution without color or contrast.
Such barrenness challenges the spirit. There have been a number of
“successful” suicides (and several attempts) during her two-year tenure
as warden. This is the site of my research.
As I roll into the potholed obstacle course that passes as the visitor
parking area, I immediately scan the other cars to see whether or not
the study scribes are present and waiting. The scribes (Audrey, Danielle,
Ashleigh, Sara, Brianna, and Jessica) are students that I hand-picked and
trained to transcribe as much of the focus-group or interview conversa-
tions as possible. They are central to this research project because the
warden has prohibited the use of any recording devices for research pur-
poses. For “security reasons,” the facility staff visually records all of our
focus groups and one-on-one interviews, but they cannot make audio
recordings per the Certificate of Confidentiality limitations issued by
the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Two scribes attend
and transcribe each research meeting.
If we’re all present in the reception area and set to go 30 minutes
before our scheduled research period, and if the prison stars align,
ix