Life After Release

Available open access digitally under CC-BY-NC-ND licence.This groundbreaking book offers the first in-depth, longitudinal account of release and re-entry into the community, for men serving mandatory life sentences for murder in England and Wales. Drawing on a qualitative study with 20 men interviewed before and after release, it illuminates how long-term imprisonment shapes identity, expectations and the realities of returning to society.The book explores three understudied dimensions of ‘life after life’: the role of release on temporary licence, the moral weight of murder in shaping post release trajectories, and the power of social relations in reintegration. Ailie Rennie’s rich, qualitative insights reveal the complex human experiences of release.