ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a preliminary snapshot of the nature and extent of deaths in sites of state confinement, whilst advocating an expansion of the definition of state confinement to include a range of satellite institutions, both public and private. It considers the issue of deaths in these sites as a form of violence. The chapter outlines a theoretical framework for conceptualising the routine, dehumanising and punitive conditions and experiences which produce individual and collective harm and death. It argues that deaths in sites of incarceration are better understood as being located along a continuum of violence and terror. The chapter adopts an approach that stretches beyond the traditional confines of the criminal justice system to include deaths in other forms of institutions. The fatal consequences of systemic and routine neglect within sites of state confinement must be understood as violence. The chapter concludes by advocating an abolitionist position regarding sites of state confinement.
