ABSTRACT
Andy's life story is a narrative of crime and punishment, or, in his words, 'it's all been crime and prison'. This chapter discusses Andy's experiences of long-term imprisonment and the various effects this had on him, and his opportunities for resettlement. Andy's story is, thus, structured and analysed under the superordinate theme: 'Experiencing punishment', which is divided into three sub-themes: 'Experience of prisoner community'; 'Effects of prison'; and 'Experiencing and anticipating release'. It also discusses Andy's life beyond the fragmentation of the Del, which has been lived almost exclusively in prison. In the early stages of his imprisonment, Andy highly identified with a deviant subculture, and, at an impressionable age, he quickly internalized the norms of the prisoner community; while his method of adaptation to the prison culture contributed to the pains of his experience of imprisonment, this did nothing to 'deter' him or encourage him to realise a lifestyle that avoided a return to prison.
