Young: Rural Spaces and Parole Decisions

Kathryne M. Young (Sociology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst) investigates how California parole commissioners’ perceptions of rurality shape parole hearings for inmates serving life sentences in Legal Ruralism and California Parole Hearings: Space, Place, and Carceral Landscape (Rural Sociology).

Drawing on 25 in-depth interviews with California parole commissioners and additional contextual fieldwork, Young found that commissioners perceived rural places as deprived of programming resources and this perception limited inmates’ access to serious consideration for parole. Young also addresses the role of space in shaping the commissioner workforce by presenting commissioners’ thoughts on the difficulties in traveling to remote prisons for parole hearings.

In Legal Ruralism and California Parole Hearings, Young highlights the importance of perceptions of space and analyzes the impact of actual or perceived remoteness on a concrete outcome: parole hearings. Young places her findings in the broader context of “legal deserts” and suggests her results show parole commissioners perceive rural prisons as resource deserts and this perception affects parole outcomes.

This digest was produced with significant contribution by Aurora Kenworthy, UNL Law Student.