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Helen Codd, In the Shadow of Prison: Families, Imprisonment, and Criminal Justice

Document Cited in Related
Vincent
DOI10.1177/1462474509385617
Published date01 October 2011
Date01 October 2011
AuthorAndrea Leverentz
Subject MatterBook Reviews
untitled Book Reviews
491
Helen Codd, In the Shadow of Prison: Families, Imprisonment, and Criminal Justice, Willan
Publishing: Cullompton, Devon, 2008; 201 pp.: 9781843922452
Helen Codd’s In the Shadow of Prison pushes those interested in mass incarceration
to include in a central way ‘families in which one or more family members are in
prison’ (pp. 5–6). This book is an overview of the existing literature, primarily from
the United Kingdom and the United States, on the social, emotional, economic,
and legal issues surrounding prisoners’ families. The focus here is on the families
themselves, rather than the importance of the families to the incarcerated person.
The purpose is threefold: to introduce readers to the research on prisoners’ families,
to encourage additional research, and to increase attention to related policy issues.
Codd argues that families of prisoners are marginalized – because of their connec-
tion to incarceration, but also within the criminal justice system and relevant aca-
demic disciplines. Through this work, she draws attention to their marginalization
and its consequences.
Two themes are consistent throughout the book: imprisonment challenges, but
rarely ends, relationships and family members also suf‌fer from pains of imprison-
ment, even though they have not been convicted of any crime. Most of the attention
is given to romantic partners, children of incarcerated parents, and grandparent
caregivers. There is less attention given to families of origin, extended kin, or
other impacted relationships. Throughout the book, Codd stresses repeatedly that
‘regardless of the gender of the inmate it is women who bear the burdens of caring’
(p. 3). Because of this, much of the book is focused on gender and women’s issues,
particularly those related to female partners of male prisoners and the often female
caregivers of female prisoners’ children. She emphasizes that not all families are the
same. We should be careful to not romanticize the concept of family and there may
be both...

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