How Black Female Offenders Explain Their Crime and Describe Their Hopes: A Case Study of Inmates in a California Prison

The majority of criminological literature focuses on male inmates using quantitative methods. This is the only work to examine black women offender's perceptions of the etiology of crime. This research expands on two earlier studies. First, Mathis and Rayman (1972) studied male prison inmates' views and perceptions on what causes crime and found that inmates identify external, environmental factors as one of the primary causes of crime. Second, Gillespie and Galliher (1972) highlighted the importance of male inmates' definition of the impact of prison on their prospects for the future. The current study explores black female inmates' perceptions of what causes crime as well as their orientation toward the future. Understanding how incarcerated black women see themselves and their crimes could inform theory, research, practice, and policy. Thirty black female offenders in a large West Coast prison were interviewed using a semi-structured, in-depth interview questionnaire. The women were between the ages of 19 and 75, and primarily of lower socio-economic status. Findings indicate that black female inmates' primarily cite two types of causal attributions: external and internal/external. Overwhelmingly, black female inmates cite more external factors as causes of crime (e.g., abuse or other people). Furthermore, drug use was also frequently cited by informants. For many informants, drug use originated in external causes but became a personal or internal cause of subsequent behaviors. These findings challenge the view that prisoners primarily identify external factors in regard to causes of crime.