ABSTRACT
The period from 18 to 25 years of age has been theorized as a distinct life stage of "emerging adulthood" during which people explore social roles, occupational directions, and behavioral choices that set the foundation for their adult lives. By reinterpreting the years spent in the grip of the penitentiary in a manner that rejects the need for punishment and asserts desires for the protective period of emerging adulthood, young men and women signal the importance of this developmental stage and highlight the necessity of understanding the dominant role of the prison as a shaping institution at this critical juncture in the lives of those born into poverty. It is obvious that the criteria for entering college and entering prison differ. As Carlen and Tomb bluntly state, "a prison is a prison" and the punitive mission at its core fundamentally interferes with any other purpose young adults may attempt to extract from it.
