Imprisoned by deafness: The experiences of deaf prisoners

Abstract

In “Imprisoned by Deafness: The experiences of deaf prisoners” Laura Margaret Kelly presents an outline of the justifications for, and provisional findings of, her PhD research. Drawing upon her literature review, Laura Margaret Kelly identifies how the experiences of d/Deaf people in prison have been largely neglected in prison policy and academic literature alike. This seems to be a significant omission in both penology and Deaf studies and her analysis attempts to bridge the gap between these two disciplines. Laura Margaret Kelly makes connections between her research and the requirements of recent equality legislation as well as highlighting how the harms and pains of imprisonment for d/Deaf prisoners are exacerbated under existing penal regimes and thus may be subjected to disproportionate punishments because of their disability.