Sentencing hearings and video biographies

There was considerable controversy following the recent sentencing hearing of a convicted rapist in Sydney. Several well-known people provided glowing character references for the offender, provoking criticisms of their support:
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/nsw-barristers-slam-pru-goward-for-criticising-glowing-references-for-rapist-luke-lazarus-20150407-1me2ti.html

In the US, video production houses are seeking to create flattering biographical videos for presentation in court:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/25/nyregion/defendants-using-biographical-videos-to-show-judges-another-side-at-sentencing.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=1

Apparently this service has been offered to well-healed customers for some time. Rich defendants can expect elegant, well produced and professionally edited footage to show them in the best possible light, prior to sentencing. Now some video makers are endeavouring to make this potent visual material accessible to the less affluent in society. The nonprofit Silicon Valley De-Bug is a criminal justice group that is seeking to produce biographical videos for poorer defendants, to address the inequality of arms - and of production values.

http://fusion.net/story/41931/inside-the-prison-systems-illicit-digital-world/

Criminal justice proceedings may be increasingly technologised, yet daily life in most prisons is conducted in a technological void. Digital connectivity is much sought after, and this article explores illicit communication technologies, mobile phones as contraband in prison, and prisoners' 'inventiveness' in accessing the outside world. Prisons have been 'technological dead zones' where prisoners are limited to landline phones. Long term prisoners may leave the system poorly equipped to engage with communication technologies, and this article questions whether it is a form of cruelty to  deny prisoners access to the digital universe: 

'or should his virtual self be imprisoned too?'

Life-sized screens in virtual courtroom

A mock trial in a virtual courtroom was apparently conducted last week using life-sized video screens. The arrangement of life-sized screens in the courtroom sought to create an immersive environment.

Such technology may represent some improvement, although it still focuses on the visual aspects of legal procedure while ignoring the significance of the other senses.

http://www.lawyersweekly.com.au/wig-chamber/news/16538-trial-by-immersive-video-link-a-world-first

I've been writing about these issues in a draft journal article submission 'Video links from prison: phenomenology and carceral space' - and in my thesis of course - from the perspective of prisoners and their experience of  video technologies from prison.

The courtroom endpoint of video technology is very, very different from the prison endpoint.

Et Mon Droit

The more I immerse myself in my research, the more I find interesting groups of academics and arts practitioners who engage with both the visual and the law. For example, the Judicial Images project draws together people and resources regarding the potency of the visual image in law, and its symbolic role in legitimising power. The project 'explores how official and unofficial images of the judiciary are created, managed and consumed.' For more on that project, go to:

http://judicialimages.org

Similarly, it's always wonderful to find exhibitions that deal with the intersections between contemporary art and the law. 'Et Mon Droit' re-contextualises the heraldic motto 'Dieu et mon droit' that adorns English and Australian courtrooms. The artists explore the abbreviated motto to subvert legality and its fixed structure. The exhibition runs from 28 May - 11 July 2015 at Copperfield, London.

For more information, head to:
http://www.copperfieldgallery.com/et-mon-droit.html

Animated Crime

Several years ago I stumbled across Alix Lambert's book "Crime: A Series of Extraordinary Interviews Exposing the World of Crime - Real and Imagined". The book presents various narratives and commentaries about true crime and fictional crime, cinematic responses and prisoners' perspectives.

http://www.bookdepository.com/book/9780955006180?redirected=true&viewCountry=AU&selectCurrency=AUD&gclid=COCDqKzAwb4CFVgSvQodOI8APQ

So it was wonderful today to find the boldly illustrated animated series:

http://style5.tv/portfolio/crime/

Visual Criminology

As a visual artist and criminology PhD candidate, I have a great interest in the intersections between criminal justice, aesthetics and visual culture, particularly in the context of contemporary digital technologies, screens and cameras linking prisons with courtrooms. During my research,  it has been great to find several online groups (e.g. on FaceBook) who share this interest in cultural criminology, more specifically, visual criminology or “criminological aesthetics” (Carrabine 2012: 464).

I've found that there are some good resources and references available about this emerging area of criminological research:

http://visualcriminology.com/about/

A related conference is the forthcoming ‘Law and the Visual: Transitions & Transformations’ at ANU. This  sounds very worthwhile and certainly relevant to my research! Several leading international scholars are confirmed participants including Alison Young, Peter Goodrich, Richard Sherwin and Desmond Manderson.

More details:

http://hrc.anu.edu.au/lawandvisual

http://lawlithum.org/category/conf/

On the thesis treadmill

"Automaton"= a moving mechanical device in imitation of a human being = how it feels at the moment as I try to write, write, write.

But the words appear 

s  l  o  w  l  y …

I've got fantastic rich empirical data from prison, developed strong arguments and found great literature yet the process of getting it down on paper(screen) is tough!
As well as writing, I've also been collecting interesting images that show video links in use, and the visual representation of the remote inmate. Here's one from Canada featuring former pig farmer and convicted serial killer, Robert Pickton:

http://www.theprovince.com/news/Lawsuit+against+Pickton+government+police+should+wait+while+compensation+deal+worked+lawyer/9391439/story.html

In the Library at the Oñati International Institute for the Sociology of Law

A tower of books about prisons, policing and punishment - I've found my place in the famous library of the Oñati International Institute for the Sociology of Law.

Photo: Carolyn McKay 2013

The Library has an amazing collection of books and articles and is the most extensive socio-legal library in Europe. Furthermore it provides a tranquil place to work within a stunning Renaissance building.
More information:
http://www.iisj.net/iisj/de/about-iisl.asp?cod=5186&nombre=5186&prt=1

Oñati International Institute for the Sociology of Law

I've been ignoring my blogging obligations for some months...
But now I'm here in glorious Basque Country with time to write and complete the first draft of my thesis. I'm a Visiting Scholar at the International Institute for the Sociology of Law in Oñati, located in a beautiful Spanish Renaissance building that was completed in 1543.  Today I spent time in the Library procrastinating about where to commence … and decided to just start at the beginning with the Introductory chapter. I know I'll end up revising that chapter considerably later, but it feels good to ground my thoughts and remind myself of my motivations for this research project. I've started with a short narrative about my first encounter with courtroom technologies to give context to my research focus: the embodied experience of the incarcerated person, that person dressed in prison greens appearing from a remote correctional facility.

http://www.iisj.net/iisj/de/about-iisl.asp?cod=5186&nombre=5186&prt=1

Image: Carolyn McKay 2013 

Critical Criminology Conference 2013

Today I'm writing my paper for the 7th Annual Critical Criminology Conference:

http://www.flinders.edu.au/ehl/law/news-and-events/critical-criminology-conference-2013.cfm

My paper is "Video Links from Prison: Permeability and the Carceral World" in which I discuss whether video conferencing systems create new links between spaces of incarceration and the outside world, or merely reinforce the growing carcerality of contemporary society. I explore how video conferencing may be a conduit between conceptually linked but non-contiguous spaces, facilitating a process of permeability between prisons and the outside world: as the courtroom enters the prison via video link technologies, simultaneously, the prison enters the courtroom. My recent fieldwork drew attention to the issue of sound permeability, or audio bleed, with prison noise infiltrating the video booth and flowing into the remote courtroom.

Carceral Cinematography

As I've been researching carcerality I came across this interesting list of prison films that explore the use of prisoners and prisons as narrative or metaphor:

http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/prisonfilmsbib.html

Google images 18/07/13

Actually I've now found many other lists including:

http://www.imdb.com/list/QtLIw92EnJA/

http://www.prisonmovies.net/prison-movies

http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2010/may/30/ten-best-prison-films

Add to this list the many reality TV shows about prisons particularly in the USA and UK and prison drama series, and you have many hours of intense viewing!

The Conversation: review of the Gateways to Justice report

I was recently interviewed by The Conversation about the Australian Research Council Linkage Project “Gateways to Justice: improving video-mediated communications for justice participants” report. This was a very comprehensive study using innovative experiments and proposing important improvements and guidelines for video conferencing in the justice sector.

http://theconversation.com/higher-quality-court-videolinks-will-improve-justice-outcomes-study-15453

Court closures in England

Interesting to read about the number of court closures in England:
http://www.justice.gov.uk/about/hmcts/courts

I'm not sure if this process is yet complete but the proposal is to close 93 magistrates' courts and 49 county courts in England and Wales. Thanks to contacts from the British Society of Criminology Post Graduate Community, and my researching mother, who have sent me a variety of links about the court closures, for example, Highgate in London:
http://www.hamhigh.co.uk/news/highgate_s_magistrates_court_closes_its_doors_for_good_1_1753891

Since I last looked at this website it seems the network of Virtual Courts has expanded, not surprising given the number of court closures:
http://www.justice.gov.uk/legal-aid/areas-of-work/crime/magistrates-courts

Google image search 02/07/13

Great images of derelict courts and buildings:
http://www.locationworks.com/search/index.php?search=court

Also in Ireland:

Crumlin Road Courthouse in Belfast:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/slinky2000/6329909078/

The Human Voice

http://www.hmkv.de/_en/programm/programmpunkte/2013/Ausstellungen/2013_His_Masters_Voice.php

The human voice has been the subject of several exhibitions in recent years. His Master's Voice explores the performativity of voice and language, speech acts and utterances. Of interest to my research is the consideration of how the voice is connected to the body and what happens when the spoken word is severed from the speaker. On the website, there is a great exhibition guide to download in both German and English.
If you happen to be in Germany, it opens 22 March at HMKV at Dortmunder U

Leonie-Reygers-Terrasse
D-44137 Dortmund.

SUPERMAX

As I write about my experience of conducting interviews within the carceral world, I'm interested in describing the unique attributes of custodial space that emanate from penal architecture and prison culture. For my research, an understanding of this environment is important in considering the shifting space of the criminal justice system from the perspective of inmates; a shift from the courtroom dock to the prison video booth.


The ideological underpinnings of prisons vary from the overtly punitive and coercive, to those that focus upon incapacitation and social exclusion, to those that seek rehabilitation. In NSW, Corrective Services espouse values of justice and equity in their management of correctional centres, including the humane treatment of inmates, as well as ensuring their safety, welfare and positive development. These values need to be balanced with the goals of reducing recidivism and enhancing community safety.

Nevertheless, prisons are non-neutral and closed finite spaces. I suggest that spaces of incarceration fall within the 'hostile spaces' excluded from Gaston Bachelard's Poetics of Space 1994. Prisons present a highly controlled, surveilled, de-humanised and potentially dangerous environment, the antithesis of a poetic space, yet embedded with phenomenological qualities that impact upon inmates.  Incarceration within an environment of solitary confinement or in 'supermax' conditions radically diminishes human sensorial experience. This ABC story on Goulburn's Supermax is from 2005 but provides some interesting insights into this particularly opaque world.

http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/2011/08/16/3294815.htmhttp://www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/2011/08/16/3294815.htm

Plunging into the belly of the beast

While my thesis primarily focusses upon the embodied experience of inmates who appear in court by video link from prison, I'm also reflecting upon my embodied experience of conducting a prison ethnography – an immersion of my body into a 'hostile' environment for the purposes of gathering evidence and rich verbatim data for my thesis. I argue that places of incarceration are non-neutral, closed finite spaces that create specific phenomenological experiences, spatial relationships and human responses (Bollnow 1963: 18-19) for both inmates appearing remotely in court from prison, and for a researcher visiting to gather evidence.

I question what I, as a researcher, have gained from my physical entry into the opaque carceral world, plunging into “the belly of the beast” (Wacquant 2002: 385-9) and my subsequent process of reflection. Yvonne Jewkes argues that the researcher may be actively reflexive of their personal encounter while still maintaining academic standards of epistemological and theoretical engagement (Jewkes 2012: 72). By interrogating the self and the lived experience of conducting prison research, the reflexive researcher may add humanity to data, animate the dynamics and nuances of the highly charged environment of a prison to more fully articulate and critique the penal system. 

Well, that's what I'm aiming for ...

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2011/02/west_new_york_police_charge_qu.html

accessed 06/03/13

A friend and PhD candidate, also involved in prison research, has just sent me a link to this recent publication: 

Imprint: Criminologische Studies
Available
€ 25,95
ISBN: 9789057182631
216 pages
Publishing date: 15/02/2013

• Contents
• Google Book Search

THE PAINS OF DOING CRIMINOLOGICAL RESEARCH

Kristel Beyens, Jenneke Christiaens, Bart Claes, Steven De Ridder, Hanne Tournel, Hilde Tubex

http://www.aspeditions.be/article.aspx?article_id=THEPAI818J&langue=en-gb

According to the link: 

"Handbooks of research mainly focus on research methods and techniques and leave the person of the researcher out of focus. This book explicitly starts from the experiences of criminology researchers and tells about the ‘pains’ they encounter when doing research. By giving voice to the researchers themselves, this book fills a gap that is rarely touched upon in the classical textbooks. These tales of the field bear witness to the often hidden difficulties and pitfalls of doing research and focus on often-neglected questions. What does it mean to do research in a hyper masculine environment such as a prison? What are the challenges to get access to a police organization or to private intelligence organizations and private security companies? How does a researcher cope with her/his own emotions during fieldwork? How does an ex-convict experience the process ofbecoming a researcher? What are the hidden or unexpected problems of publishing? What are the challenges of doing comparative research?

These are only a few questions that are dealt with in this book, which is written by researchers for researchers and students. Although it starts from a criminological perspective, researchers from other disciplines will also benefit from the sharing and comparing of similar experiences.

This book is written by scholars of the Criminology Department of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. They are all members of the research group Crime and Society (CRiS)."

I'll add this to the ever-growing 'must-read' pile.

Transcription: voices from prison

Now that I've completed my interviews with inmates about their subjective experience of video links, it's time to transcribe the audio recordings. It is such a slow process as I'm aiming to create an accurate record of their voices, with all the idiosyncratic phrasing, paraverbals and utterances that come with conversation. As I go backwards and forwards through the recordings, I recall each person's face and body language. Their (now) disembodied voices reveal something of their personality or emotional state during the interview: despair, distress, powerlessness, resignation as well as apathy, distrust and considerable humour. I've also become aware of the background noises - the sounds of incarceration as prisoners and officers interact (not always politely), doors slam, announcements or reprimands are made over a PA, and then there's the slightly invasive muzak ('The first cut is the deepest') of Gloria Jean's cafe at one correctional centre.
I recorded 31 interviews and I've now transcribed 21 of them ... only ten more to go! Here I am contemplating spending more time in front of the computer screen:

Ethnography and Voyeurism

As I've now completed my fieldwork in prison, it's good to reflect upon the experience. The ethical tensions of prison ethnography cannot be ignored, and this has come up in discussions over the last couple of days with academics and other doctoral candidates. Is prison ethnography inherently coercive and voyeuristic? Or does it represent an opportunity for researchers to be the ears and eyes that can reveal a world inaccessible to most? More stuff to contemplate.

Grounding Law

I've been at the Melbourne Doctoral Forum on Legal Theory 'Grounding Law' which has been a really well curated conference featuring diverse and challenging theoretical papers. I presented in the first panel 'Techne and Technology' with my paper 'Video Conferencing from Prison: Reconceptualising the Place and Space of Criminal Law'... much discussion and response followed, useful to the ever-evolving thesis.

http://www.law.unimelb.edu.au/index.cfm?objectid=DCA83080-2698-11E1-B6610050568D0140&diaryid=6227

Art & Surveillance

As I'm in the process of drafting a paper "The artist as voyeur" that probes how surveillance is appropriated by artists both as a methodology and canvas, it was great to come across this issue (how did I miss it?!):

http://www.artlink.com.au/issues/3130/art-26-surveillance/

Luckily,  a back issue was available and has just arrived in my PO box. Now, off to read ...