Does Military Service Make the Experience of Prison Less Painful? Voices From Incarcerated Veterans

Abstract

There are more than 100,000 military veterans incarcerated in prisons throughout the United States. Nevertheless, almost nothing is known about these veterans or their incarceration experiences. In this article, we present results from a survey of more than 1,100 inmates in a large state correctional system to determine how inmates who are military veterans compare with inmates who have not served in the military in terms of their willingness to serve alternative sanctions to avoid imprisonment. The data reveal that, with the exception of military service, inmates who are military veterans are significantly less likely than their counterparts who have not served in the military to accept a variety of community sanctions over prison. In addition, Black inmates who have not served in the military are somewhat different than White inmates who have served in the military in those choices. Implications of these findings for future research are discussed.