Justice, it is said, is about acquitting the innocent and punishing the guilty. Why then, asks Roger Shaw, are the children of imprisoned parents often penalised the most? The abuse, stigma and neglect experienced by many of these children raise serious questions about the nature of criminal justice. Originally published in 1992, Prisoners’ Children provides the first in-depth look at these hidden victims of crime and examines ways in which the harm can be reduced.

The contributors – a wide range of leading practitioners and academics in the field – address such diverse issues as the psychological impact of parental incarceration on children, the added problem of racism facing black children and their families, and the particular needs of mothers and babies in prison.

Prisoners’ Children is a major resource for anyone who needs to know what can be done to confront these and other issues within prisons, the probation service, and schools.

Justice, it is said, is about acquitting the innocent and punishing the guilty. Why then, asks Roger Shaw, are the children of imprisoned parents often penalised the most? The abuse, stigma and neglect experienced by many of these children raise serious questions about the nature of criminal justice. Originally published in 1992, Prisoners’ Children provides the first in-depth look at these hidden victims of crime and examines ways in which the harm can be reduced.

The contributors – a wide range of leading practitioners and academics in the field – address such diverse issues as the psychological impact of parental incarceration on children, the added problem of racism facing black children and their families, and the particular needs of mothers and babies in prison.

Prisoners’ Children is a major resource for anyone who needs to know what can be done to confront these and other issues within prisons, the probation service, and schools.

When Becky McDonnell leaves her job as a feature reporter at the Boston News, she plans write a historical novel about the womens suffragette movement in the Granite State. She moves with her boyfriend, Sean, also a reporter, to the peaceful town of Lisbon, New Hampshire, to a house overlooking Pearl Lake. Once there, she explores Pearl Lake for inspiration and meets her neighbors, the Childers brothers. Becky is appalled when she hears the brothers she met have been brutally murdered just as Sean leaves her for a dangerous assignment in Iraq.

At her lowest point, Becky meets fellow reporter Elizabeth Williamson and begins writing articles together for a local weekly newspaper. As the Lisbon police reveal more evidence to the press, Becky, being highly ambitious, sets out to solve the murders thinking that Pearl Lake holds the clues she needs. Soon, she not only becomes a person of interest to the police but also to the suspected murderers. The motive for the murders extends beyond Pearl Lake to Boston and to Toronto but not before there is further bloodshed and a threat to everything Becky holds dear.

Justice, it is said, is about acquitting the innocent and punishing the guilty. Why then, asks Roger Shaw, are the children of imprisoned parents often penalised the most? The abuse, stigma and neglect experienced by many of these children raise serious questions about the nature of criminal justice. Originally published in 1992, Prisoners’ Children provides the first in-depth look at these hidden victims of crime and examines ways in which the harm can be reduced.

The contributors – a wide range of leading practitioners and academics in the field – address such diverse issues as the psychological impact of parental incarceration on children, the added problem of racism facing black children and their families, and the particular needs of mothers and babies in prison.

Prisoners’ Children is a major resource for anyone who needs to know what can be done to confront these and other issues within prisons, the probation service, and schools.

Justice, it is said, is about acquitting the innocent and punishing the guilty. Why then, asks Roger Shaw, are the children of imprisoned parents often penalised the most? The abuse, stigma and neglect experienced by many of these children raise serious questions about the nature of criminal justice. Originally published in 1992, Prisoners’ Children provides the first in-depth look at these hidden victims of crime and examines ways in which the harm can be reduced.

The contributors – a wide range of leading practitioners and academics in the field – address such diverse issues as the psychological impact of parental incarceration on children, the added problem of racism facing black children and their families, and the particular needs of mothers and babies in prison.

Prisoners’ Children is a major resource for anyone who needs to know what can be done to confront these and other issues within prisons, the probation service, and schools.

When Becky McDonnell leaves her job as a feature reporter at the Boston News, she plans write a historical novel about the womens suffragette movement in the Granite State. She moves with her boyfriend, Sean, also a reporter, to the peaceful town of Lisbon, New Hampshire, to a house overlooking Pearl Lake. Once there, she explores Pearl Lake for inspiration and meets her neighbors, the Childers brothers. Becky is appalled when she hears the brothers she met have been brutally murdered just as Sean leaves her for a dangerous assignment in Iraq.

At her lowest point, Becky meets fellow reporter Elizabeth Williamson and begins writing articles together for a local weekly newspaper. As the Lisbon police reveal more evidence to the press, Becky, being highly ambitious, sets out to solve the murders thinking that Pearl Lake holds the clues she needs. Soon, she not only becomes a person of interest to the police but also to the suspected murderers. The motive for the murders extends beyond Pearl Lake to Boston and to Toronto but not before there is further bloodshed and a threat to everything Becky holds dear.