Abstract
Sabine Heinlein’s Among Murderers consists of 21 short chapters, in which she describes the everyday lives of three released homicide offenders: Angel, Adam, and Bruce, as they reshape their lives outside the prison walls. Heinlein meets these three men in a halfway house in New York, and describes how their lives unfold in the 2 years that follow. By giving voice to these men, who have been “marginalized from society by their crimes and prison sentences” (p. 19), Heinlein hopes to illuminate a much-neglected epidemic of struggles faced by released prisoners, in particular prisoners who come out after serving a life sentence. This publication is especially timely given the ongoing rise in the lifer population: Today, in the United States one out of every 10 prisoners is serving a life sentence (Mauer, King, & Young, 2004). This comes down to 130,000 people, or an entire mid-size U.S. city. Even though a proportion of these lifers is serving a sentence of life without the possibility of parole, the majority of lifers will at one point be released to society. We know very little, however, about how these individuals adapt post-release, after having been removed from society for so long.
Heinlein emphasizes that freedom, for these men, “was a relief, surely, but it was also a challenge. It wasn’t something that could simply be embraced” (p. 2). Her three protagonists felt alienated from the society they left decades ago—they struggled with obtaining employment, engaging in new relationships, and regaining identities. These struggles have been documented in academic, mostly quantitative, work elsewhere (Lopoo & Western, 2005; Richards & Jones, 2004; Uggen, Manza, & Behrens, 2004; Western & Pettit, 2010) that has typically relied on data on general delinquents, who, compared to homicide offenders, served much less time behind bars. What this book adds is a qualitative, lively enquiry account of these real-life struggles.
This book is not a scientific inquiry and should thus not be treated as such: It lacks a clearly defined methodology, and is not incorporated in the scholarly work on reentry and rehabilitation. This unique journalistic perspective, however, opens doors to areas where academic inquiries cannot reach. Her nonacademic engagement with the participants has enabled her to engage in conversations and activities with these men that would not have passed current stringent Institutional Review Board (IRB) regulations. Journalistic flexibility allows the author to give full names and (confidential, at times embarrassing and potentially damaging) details of individuals related to the three protagonists—including the victims of their crimes. This increased journalistic flexibility takes a personal shape in chapters in which she gives detailed descriptions of individuals she meets, and judges unsympathetic. Yet, in doing so, I feel the author walks a very fine line between professional, responsible journalism and providing the reader with more personal details than are needed to understand the complexities of reentry.
Its captivating narratives and its first-person narrative make this a highly accessible book. One may argue that the firsthand account that makes the book so accessible is, however, at the same time its major weakness. The boundary between giving a realistic, firsthand account of their post-release struggles gets blurred, for example, when she ties in her own moralistic perception of what constitutes “true” rehabilitation. Her view on this much resembles the view taken by parole boards, as she holds that: “Rehabilitation at heart is an effort, an ongoing process. It revolves around the notion of true remorse, of being able to see, really, what you have done” (p. 227). Thus, in the author’s view, individuals have to show true remorse and insight into what they have done before being considered rehabilitated. I wonder, however, whether this moralistic standpoint helps us to further our understanding of the reentry process of this unique population. Conversely, one may argue that by expressing such a standpoint, Heinlein calls the reader to critically rethink attitudes toward the purpose of long-term imprisonment, and the goals and effectiveness of rehabilitation.
In conclusion, Among Murderers provides a unique firsthand account of the lives of three released homicide offenders, that will not only be an easy read to those working in the criminal justice field, but perhaps mostly—because of its accessibility and nonacademic tone—to the general public. With this lively journalistic narrative, Heinlein certainly succeeded in giving a human face to this understudied population.