Race and Redemption at a Correctional Turning Point

• In Event: Racial / Ethnic Attitudes on Criminal Justice and Punishment

Abstract

In the early 1970s, an era of mass incarceration began in the United States that was marked not only by harsh laws and rising incarceration rates but also by punitive rhetoric and efforts to exclude offenders from society through a variety of policies (e.g., expansion of collateral consequences). The differential impact of this penal harm on African Americans is widely documented. Recent evidence suggests, however, that the nation is at a correctional turning point—a new era in which the public and elected officials are embracing offender inclusion. In this context, based on a 2019 national opt-in internet survey, the present study considers whether Americans believe in offenders’ redeemability and support policies that provide them with legal redemption. Given the salience of race in crime-related public opinion and policy, the study examines whether public support for redemption is shaped by racial attitudes. Building on Chudy’s (2017) recent work, a special focus is given to the effects not only of racial resentment but also of racial sympathy.

Authors

• Leah C. Butler, University of Cincinnati

• Francis Cullen, University of Cincinnati

• Alexander L. Burton, University of Cincinnati

• Velmer S. Burton, Jr., University of Arkansas at Little Rock