Kenneth A. Loparo 
When the Innocent are Punished 
The Children of Imprisoned Parents

There are millions of children experiencing parental imprisonment all over the world. This book is about their problems, human rights and how they are treated throughout the justice process from the arrest of a parent to imprisonment and release.

Table of Content

PART I: PRISON, SOCIETY AND PRISONERS CHILDREN 1. Scenes from Family Life 2. When the Innocent are Punished 3. Prison and Society – a Historical Perspective PART II: CHILDREN OF IMPRISONED PARENTS – THEIR NUMBERS, PROBLEMS, AND HUMAN RIGHTS 4. Children of Imprisoned Parents in Numbers 5. The Problems and Reactions of Prisoners Children – a Review of Research 6. Children of Imprisoned Parents and their Human Rights PART III: PRISONER’S CHILDREN – FROM ARREST TO RELEASE OF THEIR IMPRISONED PARENTS 7. The Arrest of Parents – through the Eyes of Children, Police and Social Services; Peter Scharff Smith and Janne Jakobsen 8. Remand Imprisonment – a Stressful Phase of Transition 9. After the Sentence – the Family’s Way of Dealing with the Children and the Surroundings 10. Visiting in Prisons – Staff, Children, Conditions and Practice; Peter Scharff Smith and Janne Jakobsen 11. Home Leave and Other Ways of Maintaining Contact 12. When Visits do not Take Place – Parents Who Cut Off or Minimize Contact 13. When Contact is Undesirable and not in the Child’s Best Interest 14. When Mum or Dad Returns – Re-entry and Release 15. With Mum or Dad in Prison – Children who Live with their Imprisoned Parent 16. Penal Populism and Children of Imprisoned Parents PART IV: CONCLUSION 17. When the Innocent are Punished – Prison, Society and the Effects of Imprisonment

About the author

Peter Scharff Smith is a Senior Researcher at the Danish Institute for Human Rights, Denmark. He has published books and articles in Danish, English and German on prisons, punishment and human rights, including works on prison history, children of imprisoned parents, and the use of solitary confinement in prisons.