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Time Well Spent: Misery, Meaning, and the Opportunity of Incarceration
Author(s) -
WRIGHT KEVIN A.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
the howard journal of crime and justice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.462
H-Index - 7
eISSN - 2059-1101
pISSN - 2059-1098
DOI - 10.1111/hojo.12352
Subject(s) - prison , harm , punishment (psychology) , meaning (existential) , criminal justice , criminology , set (abstract data type) , economic justice , psychology , social psychology , political science , law , psychotherapist , computer science , programming language
People often leave prison worse than when they arrived; sometimes, they leave the same. People could leave prison better than when they arrived through a reimagined response to crime. They could be set up to live sustainable, fulfilling, and meaningful lives after prison. This approach could be informed by research on what makes for a meaningful life – regardless of whether a person has come into contact with the criminal justice system. A reimagined corrections could view time spent in prison as an opportunity rather than solely as a punishment; an opportunity to repair harm, empower people, and promote public safety.