SOC371H5 Chapter : Megan Comfort - the best 7 years i coulda had.docx
Document Summary
Megan comfort: the best seven years i could"a done": the reconstruction of imprisonment as rehabilitation. Interview indicates low income people denied social welfare provisions engage in a common theme of imaginary rehabilitation : as if the penitentiary was an acceptable and indeed effective social institution for preparing people to re-enter society. Rehabilitation has become attached to the penitentiary. There is no evidence to support the argument that punishment is effective in reducing a person s subsequent criminal behavior , but rather, evidence points in the direction that such sanctions may increase the likelihood of recidivism. Former prisoners undergo a process of imaginary rehabilitation behind bars: social welfare state dwindles toward extinction while poor people, particularly. Tremendous rate of incarceration in u. s over last 30 years, rate 6-12 times higher than. Roberts story of his rescue begins with the premise: the road to recovery that literally begins with a prison bed.
