Make a Submission
No. XLVI/2 (2024)
Articles

Life imprisonment without parole: Results of a longitudinal study in Hungary

PDF
  • Agnes Solt
Agnes Solt
National Institute of Criminology

Published 2024-12-20

Keywords

  • life imprisonment,
  • personality development in prison,
  • prison effects,
  • career model in prison,
  • death penalty

Copyright (c) 2024 Agnes Solt

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

“Life imprisonment without parole: Results of a longitudinal study in Hungary: Kara dożywotniego pozbawienia wolności bez możliwości warunkowego zwolnienia. Wyniki badania longitudalnego na Węgrzech” (2024) Archives of Criminology, (XLVI/2), pp. 197–220. doi:10.7420/AK2024.12.
Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC

Abstract

The main goal of the study was to raise questions concerning life sentences and to demon­strate how it evolves and impacts the criminal, who is cast out from society and incarcerated for decades. The data collection phase of this qualitative longitudinal research spanned ten years, from March 2011 to December 2020. The narrative interviews were analyzed using content analysis. The prison system has the potential to facilitate both personality development and changes in mental­ity, but it can also hinder them. The legal institution of a life sentence without parole excludes the possibility of making positive changes in the convict’s mindset and does not take into account the chance for the inmates’ personality to develop during their long sentences. The legal institution of a life sentence, due to the exclusion of the possibility of review, could only be considered a rational institution in case of an infallible investigative and judicial system.

PDF

References

  1. Adams K. (1992). ‘Adjusting to prison life.’ Crime and Justice 16, pp. 275–359. https://doi.org/10.1086/449204
  2. Bancsók and László Magyar (No. 2.) v Hungary, App. nos 52374/15, 53364/15, HUDOC – European Court of Human Rights. Available online: http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/%20eng-press?i=003-7165483-9721954 [21.10.2024].
  3. Bottoms A.E. (1999). ‘Interpersonal violence and social order in prisons.’ Crime and Justice 26, pp. 205–281. https://doi.org/10.1086/449296
  4. Clemmer D. (1958). The Prison Community. New York: Rinehart.
  5. Cohen S. and Taylor L. (1973). ‘Psychological survival: The experience of long-term imprisonment.’ Urban Life and Culture 2(1), pp. 217. https://doi.org/10.1177/089124167300200111
  6. Cooke D.J. (1989). ‘Containing violent prisoners: An analysis of the Barlinnie Special Unit.’ British Journal of Criminology 29(2), pp. 129–143. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.bjc.a047748
  7. Crewe B. (2011). Soft power in prison: Implications for staff-prisoner relationships, liberty and legitimacy.’ European Journal of Criminology 8(6), pp. 455–468. https://doi.org/10.1177/1477370811413805
  8. Crewe B., Hulley S., and Wright S. (2020). Life Imprisonment from Young Adulthood. London: Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-56601-0
  9. Flanagan T.J. (1980). ‘The pains of long-term imprisonment: A comparison of British and American perspectives.’ The British Journal of Criminology 20(2), pp. 148–156.
  10. Garami L. (1999). ‘Élő halottak? A tényleges életfogytiglani szabadságvesztés végrehajtásának fő problémái’ [The living dead? The main problems in the implementation of life imprisonment without parole sentence]. Börtönügyi Szemle 2, pp. 56–63.
  11. Goffman E. (1959). The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. New York: Doubleday.
  12. Goodstein L. and Wright K.N. (1991). ‘Inmate adjustment to prison.’ In L. Goodstein and D.L. MacKenzie (eds.) American Prison: Issues in Research and Policy. New York: Plenum Press, pp. 229–251.
  13. Gover A.R., Pérez D.M., and Jennings W.G. (2008). ‘The influence of perceptions of social support and coping on inmate substance use.’ The Prison Journal 88(3), pp. 378–399. https://doi.org/10.1177/0032885508319313
  14. Hsu H.F. (2005). ‘The patterns of masculinity in prison sociology: A case study in one Taiwanese prison.’ Critical Criminology 13, pp. 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10612-005-3182-1
  15. Hungarian Law Article: Act No CCXL of 2013 on the enforcement of penalties, measures, certain coercive measures and the detention of offenders 46/A–H §.
  16. Huszár L. (1995). ‘Alkalmazkodás. Hosszúidős elítéltek börtönadaptációja’ [Adaptation: Prison adaptation of long-term inmates]. Börtönügyi Szemle 2, pp. 21–34.
  17. Irwin J. (2009). Lifers. Seeking Redemption in Prison. New York: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203876220
  18. Irwin J. and Cressey D.R. (1962). ‘Thieves, convict, and the inmate culture.’ Social Problems 10, pp. 142–155. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/799047
  19. Jewkes Y. (2005). ‘Loss, liminality, and the life sentence: Managing identity through a disrupted lifecourse.’ In A. Liebling and S. Maruna (eds.) The Effects of Imprisonment. Cullompton: Willan Publishing, pp. 366–388.
  20. Johnson R. and Price S. (1981.) ‘The complete correctional officer: Human service and the human environment of prison.’ Criminal Justice and Behavior 8(3), pp. 343–365. https://doi.org/10.1177/009385488100800307
  21. Kiszely P. and Nagy I. (2012). ‘A hosszú időre elítéltek helyzete a Szegedi Szigorú és Közepes Börtönben’ [The situation of long-term sentenced prisoners in the Szeged Strict and Medium Prison]. Börtönügyi Szemle 3, pp. 1–16.
  22. Kruttschnitt C. and Gartner R. (2003). ‘Women’s imprisonment.’ Crime and Justice 30, pp. 1–81. https://doi.org/10.1086/652238
  23. Liebling A. and Maruna S. (2005). ‘Introduction: The effects of imprisonment revisited.’ In A. Liebling and S. Maruna (eds.) The Effects of Imprisonment. Cullompton: Willan Publishing, pp. 1–29.
  24. Meijer S. (2017). ʻRehabilitation as a positive obligation.ʼ European Journal of Crime, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice 25(2), pp. 145–162. Available online: https://brill.com/view/journals/eccl/25/2/article-p145_4.xml [15.08.2023].
  25. O’Donnell I. (2014). Prisoners, Solitude, and Time. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  26. Reade K. (2018). Life Imprisonment: A Practice in Desperate Need of Reform, Penalreform.org. Available online: https://www.penalreform.org/blog/life-imprisonment-a-practice-in-desperate-need-of/ [15.08.2023].
  27. Sapsford R.J. (1983). Life-Sentence Prisoners: Reaction, Response and Change. Milton Keynes: Open University Press.
  28. Schinkel M. (2014). Being Imprisoned. Punishment, Adaptation and Desistance. London: Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137440839
  29. Solt Á. (2013). Longitudinal Study of Inmates Sentenced to Life Imprisonment without Parole. Partial Research Report. Budapest: National Institute of Criminology.
  30. Sorensen J.R. and Reidy T.J. (2018). ‘Nothing to lose? An examination of prison misconduct among life-without-parole inmates.’ The Prison Journal 99(1), pp. 46–65. https://doi.org/10.1177/0032885518814719
  31. Street D., Vinter R.D., and Perrow C. (1966). Organization for Treatment: A Comparative Study of Institutions for Delinquents. New York: The Free Press.
  32. Sykes G.M. (1958). The Society of Captives: A Study of a Maximum Security Prison. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
  33. Sykes G.M. and Messinger S.L. (1960). ‘The inmate social system.’ In R. Cloward (ed.) Theoretical Studies in Social Organization of the Prison. New York: Social Science Research Council, pp. 5–19.
  34. Tóth Z. (2015). ‘A tényleges életfogytig tartó szabadságvesztésre ítéltek jogi helyzete és kezelése’ [The legal situation and treatment of LWOP inmates]. Ügyészek Lapja 22(6), pp. 115–119.
  35. évi CCXL törvény a büntetések, az intézkedések, egyes kényszerintézkedések és a szabálysértési elzárás végrehajtásáról [Act CCXL of 2013 on the Execution of Punishments, Measures, Certain Coercive Measures and Petty Offence Confinement] [Act CCXL of 2013]. Available online: https://njt.hu/jogszabaly/2013-240-00-00 [04.11.2024].
  36. van Zyl Smit D. and Appleton C. (2019). Life Imprisonment: A Global Human Rights Analysis. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. https://doi.org/10.4159/9780674241442
  37. Wheeler S. (1961). ‘Socialization in correctional communities.’ American Sociological Review 26(5), pp. 697–712. https://doi.org/10.2307/2090199
  38. Zamble E. (2016). ‘Behavior and adaptation in long-term prison inmates.’ Criminal Justice and Behavior 19(4), pp. 409–425.