Incarceration for Reformation or Deformation?

Sadiq Ewaoda  Amali; Ephraim Kevin  Sibanyoni; Thompo  Tshivhase

doi:10.6000/1929-4409.2021.10.65

Authors

Sadiq Ewaoda Amali Department of Sociology, Federal University Dutse, PMB 7156, Dutse, Jigawa State, Nigeria
Ephraim Kevin Sibanyoni Department of Criminology and Forensic Science, Kwa-Zulu Natal University, Durban, South Africa
Thompo Tshivhase Department of Criminology, University of Fort Hare, P.Bag X1314, Alice 5700, South Africa

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.6000/1929-4409.2021.10.65

Keywords:

Consequences, Convicted inmates, Incarceration, Offender, Punishment.

Abstract

The reason for imposing incarceration is to punish offenders for violating societal norms and values. As a means of punishment, it is deliberately inflicted on an offender, which serves as a deterrence to would-be offenders. This could help in inculcating good morals on offenders, thereby altering him or her from a nonconforming individual to a conforming one. Despite the good intention of imposing incarceration, it has contradicted its cardinal objective which has resulted in some unintended consequences such as inability to secure employment as a result of stigmatization, aiding the collapse of marriages among others. With the above-stated consequences of incarceration, penal institutions instead of instilling the positive goal of incarceration on inmates, on the contrary, it has served as a punishment ground with degrading treatment imposed on inmates by correctional officials coupled with the dehumanizing state of most penal institutions. This article concludes that incarceration has a long term effect on the positive life of offenders and recommends that concerted efforts should be made in reintegrating ex-offenders, discouraging the idea of tagging, and make ample efforts on how ex-offenders can secure payable jobs upon regaining freedom.

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