Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Inmates who cope maturely in prison find incarceration to be a painful but constructive experience. This is particularly true for life-sentence prisoners, colloquially called lifers, a group generally defined to include offenders serving prison terms ranging from 25 years up to and including life without the possibility of parole. As a general matter, lifers come to see prison as their home and try to make the most of the limited resources available in prison; they establish daily routines that allow them to find meaning and purpose in their prison lives, lives that might otherwise seem empty and pointless. The resilience shown by lifers should not be construed as an argument for more or longer prison sentences or for more punitive regimes of confinement, but rather is a reminder that human beings can find meaning in adversity. Prisons are meant to be settings of adversity but should strive to accommodate the human needs of their inhabitants and to promote constructive changes in behavior.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Using a triangulated research design, this presentation will examine the expectation of release among older male inmates serving a life without parole (LWOP) sentence. Using data extracted from the Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Facilities (1997), quantitative analyses will involve a series of logistic regression analyses that predict the likelihood of expectation of release older LWOP inmates. Their expectation of release will be compared to two reference groups: younger LWOP inmates and older non-LWOP inmates. Younger LWOP inmates refers to inmates who are 49 years of age or less, while older non-LWOP inmates are defined as inmates, who are at least 50 years of age, and serving prison sentences other than life and LWOP. The qualitative component of this research is derived from 25 in-depth interviews conducted with older male LWOP inmates. Inmate responses regarding their expectations of release will be coded and variance in their expectation of release will be examined.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: (to be uploaded)

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: To date, the bulk of the research into the wrongful conviction of the innocent has focused on the problems and abuses within the criminal justice system that often can lead to a wrongful conviction. Little research has examined post-release adjustment needs for the wrongly convicted after their exoneration. This paper draws on 18 in-depth interviews conducted with death row exonerees to elaborate on the needs that exonerees encounter in the years post-exoneration. Findings reveal their needs revolve around material support, emotional and practical support, and community support. Psychological well-being is significantly affected by successful reintegration and reconciliation within their families, their communities, and their society as a whole. National and local efforts to assist exonerees after their release from prison are examined. Policy implications are explored.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: I evaluate the life course determinants of cognitive functioning among 1,020 women and men ≥ 50 years in Ismailia, Egypt, where girls’ historical disadvantage in family care is known, but not the consequences of such biases for later-life cognitive functioning. Three questions motivate this analysis: (1) Do older women have poorer cognitive functioning than do older men?, (2) If yes, how much do childhood and adult resources account for this disadvantage?, and (3) Do differences in the returns to women’s and men’s resources account for differences in their later-life cognitive functioning? Compared to men, women have lower Modified-Mini Mental Status Exam (M-MMSE) scores for overall cognitive functioning. Child and adult attributes are jointly associated with the M-MMSE score; yet, childhood attributes account for a larger share of the difference. An increment in the score for family economic status in childhood is associated with a non-significant decline in men’s mean M-MMSE score, and an increase of 0.25 points in women’s mean score (p < .05). Almost 85 percent of the difference in men’s and women’s mean M-MMSE scores is attributable to differences in their child, adult, and basic demographic attributes; the remainder results from the differential effects of these attributes.