戴著腳鐐參加葬禮：獄中生涯和重獲自由的感覺

Before she became a photographer, Sara Bennett was a public defender, so she thought she knew something about life in prison. But as she followed four women in their transition back to freedom in New York City, she realized she had a lot to learn. The women were all convicted of murder and served between 17 and 35 years, mainly at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility in Westchester County. “I didn’t know that if a loved one dies, you’re allowed to go to the funeral but you’re shackled,” Ms. Bennett said. “I didn’t know what it meant to be ill and grow old in prison.”

成為攝影師之前，薩拉·貝內(nèi)特(Sara Bennett)曾是一名公設(shè)辯護(hù)律師，因此她覺得自己對于監(jiān)獄里的生活多少有些了解。但當(dāng)她開始跟拍四位女性，和她們在紐約市重新融入社會的過程后，她才意識到自己所知甚少。這些女性都曾被判定犯有謀殺罪，主要在威徹斯特縣的貝德福德山懲教設(shè)施(Bedford Hills Correctional Facility)服刑，時(shí)間從17到35年都有。“我以前不知道，如果家人或者愛人去世，你可以去參加葬禮，但必須戴腳鐐。” 貝內(nèi)特說，“我以前不知道在監(jiān)獄中生病或者老去意味著什么。”

Ms. Bennett, 60, stopped practicing law full time more than a decade ago, and turned to photography. She accompanied the recently released women — Carol, Evelyn, Keila and Tracy, whose last names Ms. Bennett agreed not to reveal — as they found jobs and housing and reunited with family. She watched as they explored their new freedom and dealt with the lingering restrictions on it, from mandatory drug tests to curfews.

貝內(nèi)特今年60歲，10多年前不再全職從事法律工作，轉(zhuǎn)向攝影。她陪同著這些近期被釋放的女性：卡羅爾(Carol)，伊夫林(Evelyn)，凱拉(Keila)和特雷西(Tracy)——貝內(nèi)特同意不透露她們的姓氏。貝內(nèi)特看著她們尋找工作和住處，與家人團(tuán)聚，看著她們探索重新獲得的自由，適應(yīng)仍然存在的限制，從強(qiáng)制性毒品檢測到宵禁要求。

Despite these prohibitions, the women relished the little things. “Carol basically lives on one block,” Ms. Bennett said. “She says: ‘This is great. No one is coming in and out. I can lock my door.’ ” Or as Tracy put it to her, “There are no bathtubs in prison.”

盡管有眾多限制，她們還是在新生活的細(xì)節(jié)中找到了樂趣。“卡羅爾基本就在一個街區(qū)內(nèi)活動，”貝內(nèi)特說，“她說：‘這特別好。沒有人進(jìn)進(jìn)出出。我可以鎖門。’或者就像特雷西對她說的那樣，“監(jiān)獄里沒有浴缸。”

Ms. Bennett said she hoped the series, compiled in the self-published book “Life After Life in Prison,” would prompt a re-examination of the criminal justice system, which repeatedly denied these women parole, though they had learned trades, earned degrees and had good disciplinary records in prison. “I was very specific about focusing on women convicted of murder,” she said. “I focused on people facing life sentences for violent crimes they committed a long time ago. I think that’s where we really need to focus our attention, because it’s a humanitarian issue; that’s who gets old in prison,” she added. “And they’re the ones least likely to commit crimes when they get out.”

貝內(nèi)特將作品匯編成冊，自費(fèi)出版了《鐵窗生涯之后的生活》(Life After Life in Prison)一書。她希望這個系列能夠促使人們重新審視刑事司法體系。這一體系中，女性往往很難獲得保釋，即便她們學(xué)會了手藝，獲得了學(xué)位，并且在獄中表現(xiàn)良好。“我非常強(qiáng)調(diào)要專門關(guān)注被判謀殺罪的女性這一群體，”貝內(nèi)特說，“我專注于面臨無期徒刑的人，他們距離當(dāng)初犯下暴力罪行已經(jīng)有很長時(shí)間了。我認(rèn)為這是我們最需要關(guān)注的地方，因?yàn)檫@是一個人道主義問題;是這些人在監(jiān)獄里生活然后老去。”她補(bǔ)充道。“并且他們在出獄后重新犯罪的可能性是最低的。”