Criminalized and Disabled: A Sociological Criminology Beyond the Crime

This work provides a compelling sociological exploration of learning disability, mothering, and mental health within the criminal justice system. Through life story research, it reveals the stigmatisation, miscommunication, and injustices faced by neurodivergent men who have broken the law and mothers who have criminalised and disabled sons. The book documents stories of abuse, fear, exclusion, misunderstandings, harm, loneliness, alongside stories of hope and care. Criminalised and disabled men, along with their families, operate in a climate characterised by calls for harsher sentencing, especially for violence and sexual crimes. The men who shared their life story were not born to break the law; they were neurodivergent and learning-disabled boys who endured physical, emotional, and systemic abuse. The mothers I spoke with never imagined their lives would follow a path marked by criminalisation and the incarceration of their sons. They never anticipated the emotional and physical abuse they would endure or the lifelong challenges of caregiving and declining mental health. Harm and punishment profoundly impact lives, as does our response. Although many might consider themselves unaffected by harm and injustice, these issues permeate every aspect of social and community life. I argue that understanding the socio-political context is essential. For example, experiencing ongoing stigmatisation as a child and then breaking the law as an adult is a personal trouble; encountering violence from a son and then caring for him while incarcerated is a personal trouble. Yet, crime, education, and violence are public issues rooted in the moral and legal norms of society.