{"id":286,"date":"2018-03-30T20:40:44","date_gmt":"2018-03-30T20:40:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/2018\/03\/30\/2018228ll3nubpiiry1u3jbxj0s595aywt6ia\/"},"modified":"2020-09-05T19:47:42","modified_gmt":"2020-09-05T19:47:42","slug":"2018228ll3nubpiiry1u3jbxj0s595aywt6ia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/2018\/03\/30\/2018228ll3nubpiiry1u3jbxj0s595aywt6ia\/","title":{"rendered":"Shackled to words:                                       The language of news extends punishment of the formerly incarcerated"},"content":{"rendered":"<div\n        class=\"\n          image-block-outer-wrapper\n          layout-caption-below\n          design-layout-inline\n          \n          \n          \n        \"\n        data-test=\"image-block-inline-outer-wrapper\"\n    ><\/p>\n<figure\n            class=\"\n              sqs-block-image-figure\n              intrinsic\n            \"\n            style=\"max-width:1250.0px;\"\n        ><\/p>\n<div\n              \n                style=\"padding-bottom:45.57823181152344%;\"\n              \n              class=\"\n                image-block-wrapper\n                \n          \n        \n                has-aspect-ratio\n              \"\n              data-animation-role=\"image\"\n              \n  data-animation-override\n\n          ><br \/>\n            <noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Untitled-design-2.png\" alt=\"Untitled design-2.png\" \/><\/noscript><img class=\"thumb-image\" data-src=\"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Untitled-design-2.png\" data-image=\"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Untitled-design-2.png\" data-image-dimensions=\"1250x580\" data-image-focal-point=\"0.5,0.5\" alt=\"Untitled design-2.png\" data-load=\"false\" data-image-id=\"5a9decf453450a60c94dfecb\" data-type=\"image\" \/>\n          <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<p><strong>By Thamar Bailey<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In early February, a woman gave birth in her cell at York Correctional Institution in Niantic, Connecticut\u2019s only women\u2019s prison. Two days later reports began circulating that the institution was investigating how a child could\u2019ve been born at the facility while health workers knew of the pregnancy.<\/p>\n<p>Only one of the news reports published soon after the incident featured a headline referring to the new mother as a \u201cwoman.\u201d &nbsp;Among the other headlines, one labeled her a \u201cprisoner,\u201d five labeled her an \u201cinmate\u201d and the remaining three referred solely to the birth of the baby.<\/p>\n<p>Amber Kelly, a partner of the Quinnipiac University Prison Project and Quinnipiac assistant professor of social work, noted a similar trend. According to Kelly, when the news media refers to the female as an \u201cinmate\u201d or \u201cprisoner\u201d she is dehumanized.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe is a woman. She is now a mother, and to read \u2018inmate gives birth in cell\u2019 hits you so differently than \u2018a woman gave birth in her cell\u2019, [than] \u2018a pregnant woman gave birth in her cell,\u2019\u201d Kelly said. \u201cWhen most people hear the word inmate there\u2019s immediately a distancing. [People view the incident as] \u2018That has nothing to do with me.\u2019 \u2018 I am not that thing.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<div\n        class=\"\n          image-block-outer-wrapper\n          layout-caption-below\n          design-layout-inline\n          \n          \n          \n        \"\n        data-test=\"image-block-inline-outer-wrapper\"\n    ><\/p>\n<figure\n            class=\"\n              sqs-block-image-figure\n              intrinsic\n            \"\n            style=\"max-width:2500.0px;\"\n        ><\/p>\n<div\n              \n                style=\"padding-bottom:17.346939086914062%;\"\n              \n              class=\"\n                image-block-wrapper\n                \n          \n        \n                has-aspect-ratio\n              \"\n              data-animation-role=\"image\"\n              \n  data-animation-override\n\n          ><br \/>\n            <noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/PeopleGraphic-OG-01.png\" alt=\"Graphic by Thamar Bailey\" \/><\/noscript><img class=\"thumb-image\" data-src=\"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/PeopleGraphic-OG-01.png\" data-image=\"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/PeopleGraphic-OG-01.png\" data-image-dimensions=\"2500x478\" data-image-focal-point=\"0.5,0.5\" alt=\"Graphic by Thamar Bailey\" data-load=\"false\" data-image-id=\"5abd2e7f8a922d2f16f018ed\" data-type=\"image\" \/>\n          <\/div><figcaption class=\"image-caption-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"image-caption\">\n<p>Graphic by Thamar Bailey<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>At a time when incarceration is a widely discussed and polarizing topic, experts say journalists\u2019 word usage may have an effect on the public\u2019s perception of previously incarcerated people and those currently incarcerated.<\/p>\n<p>Don Sawyer, a Quinnipiac sociology professor who is serving as the university\u2019s chief diversity officer, explained that upon reentry previously incarcerated people run into obstacles obtaining housing, applying for jobs and being accepted back into the community. Instead, they\u2019re viewed as \u201cmonsters\u201d that shouldn\u2019t have been let out of their cage, Sawyer said.<\/p>\n<p>The news media places a label on people by using stigmatizing words such as: inmate, prisoner, convict and offender, according to Quinnipiac Assistant Professor of Criminology Stephen McGuinn. When journalists use these words, they don\u2019t realize the \u201cdramatic stigma\u201d associated with them, he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd the disservice initially is that we don\u2019t see [incarcerated or currently incarcerated people] as individuals,\u201d he added. \u201cWe see them as part of some kind of group that we\u2019ve outcast and don\u2019t belong back in.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Society reflects this mentality. Previously incarcerated people are disenfranchised upon their exit from prison and re-entrance into society. For instance, they are stripped of their right to vote in various states and are excluded from some state-managed welfare programs. Society, by implementing these laws and restrictions, reinforces the idea that incarcerated people are somehow undeserving of these rights and in turn they are treated as second-class citizens, Sawyer said. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<div\n        class=\"\n          image-block-outer-wrapper\n          layout-caption-below\n          design-layout-inline\n          \n          \n          \n        \"\n        data-test=\"image-block-inline-outer-wrapper\"\n    ><\/p>\n<figure\n            class=\"\n              sqs-block-image-figure\n              intrinsic\n            \"\n            style=\"max-width:1245.0px;\"\n        ><\/p>\n<div\n              \n                style=\"padding-bottom:15.816326141357422%;\"\n              \n              class=\"\n                image-block-wrapper\n                \n          \n        \n                has-aspect-ratio\n              \"\n              data-animation-role=\"image\"\n              \n  data-animation-override\n\n          ><br \/>\n            <noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/People-Gif.gif\" alt=\"Graphic by Thamar Bailey\" \/><\/noscript><img class=\"thumb-image\" data-src=\"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/People-Gif.gif\" data-image=\"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/People-Gif.gif\" data-image-dimensions=\"1245x238\" data-image-focal-point=\"0.5,0.5\" alt=\"Graphic by Thamar Bailey\" data-load=\"false\" data-image-id=\"5ac3dbc4562fa7c08c3a6050\" data-type=\"image\" \/>\n          <\/div><figcaption class=\"image-caption-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"image-caption\">\n<p>Graphic by Thamar Bailey<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Kelly, the social work professor, points out that stigmatizing words act as labels that extend the punishment beyond the criminal justice system.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy is it that the consequence thrown down by the state isn&#8217;t enough? Why do we need to continue punishing someone on so many levels?,\u201d Kelly asked. \u201cWho decided journalists were a part of the punishment of society?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sawyer explained the weight behind labels by comparing it to what happens when a child gets in trouble at school.<\/p>\n<p>It begins with the initial instance of calling the student \u201cbad.\u201d The teacher then tells the child\u2019s next year professor to \u201cwatch out\u201d because that child is a \u201cbad\u201d student. Sawyer explained that this child is then perceived as such and will be treated accordingly. Along the way the student begins to internalize that they\u2019re a \u201cbad\u201d student and eventually behaves in that manner because it\u2019s expected of them. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, according to Sawyer.<\/p>\n<p>The role of the news media in perpetuating the stigma against incarcerated people is borne out by the words often used in articles regarding previously or currently incarcerated people.<\/p>\n<p>A search of the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.courant.com\/\">Hartford Courant<\/a> site found that in headlines and articles journalists at the Courant had a higher propensity to use the word inmate to refer to incarcerated people, while felon, offender, convict, prisoner, and ex-con were less frequent but still used.<\/p>\n<figure >\n<blockquote data-animation-role=\"quote\" \n<p>    data-animation-override><br \/>\n    <span>&#147;<\/span>Why do we need to continue punishing someone on so many levels? Who decided journalists were a part of the punishment of society?<span>&#148;<\/span><br \/>\n  <\/blockquote><figcaption class=\"source\">&mdash; Amber Kelly, Quinnipiac assistant professor of social work<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Meanwhile a search of the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nhregister.com\/\">New Haven Register<\/a> site found that in headlines and articles journalists were more likely to use the words: prisoner, offender, felon and inmate to refer to incarcerated people.<\/p>\n<p>Josh Kovner, a journalist at the Hartford Courant, has spent the past 21 years covering criminal justice, mental health and child protection. Kovner tends to refer to incarcerated people by their name in his articles. When asked why Kovner explained it in terms of a story he was recently working on about bad mental health care, noting that the humanity of the person should be at the forefront of the story.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not totally advocacy journalism, it\u2019s straight journalism,\u201d Kovner said. \u201cIf we\u2019re talking about bad medical care or bad mental health care or a brain injury or something, then you know, they\u2019re a person first.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Does the language used depend on the story being written?<\/p>\n<p>Kovner notes that he sees no reasons to use words other than the name of the incarcerated persons unless quoting from police documents or other official documents to that effect. However, overall according to Kovner, journalists shouldn\u2019t be afraid to use words like offender and inmate, even with the stigma they entail.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t need to dehumanize them further to make a point,\u201d Kovner said. \u201cBut you know if they weren\u2019t wrongly convicted, they got themselves into a situation and they\u2019re going to have to take a certain amount of pain and stigma.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>New Haven Register City Editor William Kaempffer, a previous fire and police reporter, explained his stance on the use of these words. On one hand he acknowledges the negative connotation that comes with the words inmate, convict etc. However, according to Kaempffer &nbsp;there are words that are better to use than others. He specifically prefers the word offender or ex-offender.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWords matter and different words carry different connotations, different implications draw different inference, and we as writers and reporters need to be mindful of that,\u201d Kaempffer &nbsp;said. \u201cBecause you\u2019ll hear conversations about unconscious biases.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>On Jan. 26 Quinnipiac University held a panel \u201cThe Real Women of Orange is the New Black: A Discussion of Women\u2019s Experiences of Prison in the U.S.\u201d One of the purposes of the event was to start a dialogue about the unconscious biases in society that not only people in power have but also everyday people, according to Sawyer, who co-sponsored the event.<\/p>\n<p>These unconscious biases apparent in society are ingrained in individuals via the language one sees, reads, hears as well as the way prison is depicted in the media, among other things, according to Sawyer.<\/p>\n<p>For example, when a previously incarcerated person attempts to buy a house, neighbors whisper. They question whether anyone conducted background or credit checks, Sawyer said. This line of questioning is in response to the act that a person was in jail.&nbsp;It&#8217;s an unconscious bias, according to Sawyer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt creates a monster in our minds, it creates a boogeyman,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd then when someone is coming out of prison and they tell you \u2018I was formerly incarcerated,\u2019 what does your mind go back to? Seeing those images on TV, seeing those 100-feet walls, seeing those electric fences and the barbed wires and the guards that were used to contain this individual, so they must have been a monster if they were in there.\u201d<\/p>\n<div\n        class=\"\n          image-block-outer-wrapper\n          layout-caption-below\n          design-layout-inline\n          \n          \n          \n        \"\n        data-test=\"image-block-inline-outer-wrapper\"\n    ><\/p>\n<figure\n            class=\"\n              sqs-block-image-figure\n              intrinsic\n            \"\n            style=\"max-width:1245.0px;\"\n        ><\/p>\n<div\n              \n                style=\"padding-bottom:15.646258354187012%;\"\n              \n              class=\"\n                image-block-wrapper\n                \n          \n        \n                has-aspect-ratio\n              \"\n              data-animation-role=\"image\"\n              \n  data-animation-override\n\n          ><br \/>\n            <noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/DONE.gif\" alt=\"Graphic by Thamar Bailey\" \/><\/noscript><img class=\"thumb-image\" data-src=\"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/DONE.gif\" data-image=\"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/DONE.gif\" data-image-dimensions=\"1245x240\" data-image-focal-point=\"0.5,0.5\" alt=\"Graphic by Thamar Bailey\" data-load=\"false\" data-image-id=\"5abe9db1562fa75152310ce7\" data-type=\"image\" \/>\n          <\/div><figcaption class=\"image-caption-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"image-caption\">\n<p>Graphic by Thamar Bailey<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>In response to this reality, McGuinn emphasizes the importance of using people-centered language.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019d say language is real powerful and there is no reason to broad stroke an entire population with one word,\u201d McGuinn said. \u201cThe label, yeah, that\u2019s a part of their past, but that\u2019s not them. That\u2019s why people-centered language is important. Yeah, you might have to type a couple extra words instead of inmate or ex-imate, you might have to say formerly incarcerated person.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>McGuinn shrugged and added, \u201cBut if that\u2019s the worst of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kaempffer agrees that some words are better to use than others, but disagrees that there should be an enforced uniformity among journalists\u2019 word usage when regarding a person currently or previously involved in the criminal justice system.<\/p>\n<p>Word usage should be left in the hands of the journalist writing the story, Kaempffer &nbsp;said. Noting that there are various ways to refer to the incarcerated population Kaempffer said word usage depends on what fits a particular story.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo to say an ex-prisoner versus an ex-offender, my preference is ex-offender. Sometimes, you know, \u2018the prisoner was in jail\u2019 fits into the story,\u201d Kaempffer said. &nbsp;\u201cI\u2019m not sure there are set rules that need to be put in place. I think we trust our journalists, hopefully, to be cautious in the language that they use.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But the fact remains, Kelly said, that damaging language is still used at a high rate as proven by the recent incident involving the woman that gave birth at York Correctional Facility. Journalists\u2019 words have an impact on every level, all the way to the landlord who takes in the news every day and is debating whether to rent to a previously incarcerated person, she said.<\/p>\n<p>The prolonging of pain is unnecessary and the stain of a label and the stigma it carries isn\u2019t easy to come back from, according to Sawyer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLabels shape the perception that we have of the person that\u2019s labeled,\u201d he said. \u201cSo if you say that someone is an ex-con they are forever tied to what they did and so their personhood becomes their crime. They exist as a person who committed a crime. They never get to the space where they\u2019ve paid their debt to society.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At a time when incarceration is a widely discussed and polarizing topic, experts say journalists\u2019 word usage may have an effect on the public\u2019s perception of previously incarcerated people and those currently incarcerated.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":287,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[66,142,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-capstone-projects","category-homepage","category-quinnipiac"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/35"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=286"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2883,"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286\/revisions\/2883"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}