A Shared Sorrow: Conceptualizing Mass Carceral Grief

The communities that develop in prison are often small, insular, and central to the experience of incarceration. In these carceral communities, the deaths of individuals—especially those integral to these groups—can echo heavily within a housing unit, and even an entire institution, resulting in a collective experience of grief. While grief is experienced universally, it manifests in unique ways in the carceral context. The shared sorrow, loss, and sadness characterizing the experiences of those left behind are central to this form of mourning, and among imprisoned communities, grief is experienced uniquely. This paper draws on semi-structured interviews with 58 men imprisoned during the COVID-19 pandemic in an institution where over a dozen men died in a relatively short time. Their experiences suggest that, while grieving in prison is often complicated and may be repressed by both the individual and the carceral institution, bereavement may take a different form when experienced collectively and broadly within the carceral context. We develop the concept of mass carceral grief to explain this phenomenon. While unique in many ways, the lessons on carceral grief from this public health crisis can inform our broader understanding of how loss impacts those incarcerated.