Uncomfortably numb? The risk of carceral anaesthesia

Abstract

Imprisonment – with its restrictions on movement, monotonous regimes and sparse surroundings – is often deliberately engineered to be an environment lacking emotion, where sensory deprivation is used with punitive effects (Arrigo and Bullock, 2008). However, previous research has, conversely, explored carceral spaces as those filled with a cacophony of sounds; a potent concoction of smells; and brimming with competing emotions (Crewe et al., 2014; Herrity, 2008). My previous research examines how visible, tangible and experiential components of prison architecture coalesce to produce atmospheres paradoxical to the lifeless environment that the prison often suggests. These atmospheres are powerful and vibrant, creating situations where sensory engagements act at full force and often engender both deliberate and subconscious mechanisms to combat these forces. By considering the vibrancy of prison space in examples from individuals working, living and researching in these environments, this paper explores the conversely anaesthetising qualities of carceral space. By offering short vignettes revealing anaesthetic encounters (Bissell 2022), this paper questions the inherent risk of this anaesthesia for the everyday lived experience of incarcerated persons and for the future of meaningful action in the prison system more broadly.