Confining Legitimacy: The Impact of Prison Experiences on Perceptions of Criminal Justice Legitimacy

Abstract

There are currently 2 million people incarcerated in the UnitedStates. For social workers whose practice includes people whohave experienced confinement, building knowledge about theimpact of the incarceration on individual lives is critical. Understanding how the prison experience shapes perceptions of self and others can inform the design of case management plans and program interventions that respond to clients’ needs. This article expands understanding about the prison experience by exploringthe impact of this experience on perceptions of criminal justice legitimacy.