Public Opinion on Exonerees and Their Status: Examining the Opinion of Lawfully Convicted and Wrongfully Convicted Individuals, Gender, Race, and their Reentry Support.

• In Event: Public Opinion of Justice-Involved People: Results from National Survey Experiments

Abstract

Previous research has found that public stigma is associated with challenges for individuals re-entering society after incarceration. These challenges extend to exonerees, individuals who have been wrongfully convicted by the criminal justice system and subsequently released from prison. This study examines public opinions surrounding re-entry support for individuals who have been lawfully convicted and wrongfully convicted. Further, this study examines whether public opinion varies as a function of extralegal factors, including gender and race. Using a 2x2x2 factorial survey vignette design and an online sample of adults in the United States (n=250), this study examines whether conviction status, gender, and race are associated with a wide range of re-entry supports, These findings are discussed in terms of their implications for understanding disparities in the criminal justice system as well as re-entry program and policies that aim to address the collateral consequences of incarceration.

Authors

• Martha McCullough, University of Cincinnati

• Ráchael Powers, University of Cincinnati