Politics and Support for Truth In Sentencing and Early Release

• In Event: Views on Punitive, Rehabilitative, and Reentry Policies

Abstract

As incarcerations have begun to stabilize and even decline over the past few years, more political leaders have argued that the "massive incarceration" polices of the past 30 thirty years are unsustainable. Conservative and liberal political leaders alike have called for a more even-handed and sensible approach to crime control and criminal punishment. Such narratives seemingly reflect a broader shift in the general electorate that criminal justice reform has become a non-partisan issue. We present recently collected survey data to the contrary. Wisconsin survey data collected in the summer of 2013 demonstrates that support for early release programs and for Truth-In-Sentencing still remains a highly politicized issue for registered voters. We also show that views towards Truth-In-Sentencing are more nuanced and complicated than traditional proxies for "punitive attitudes" typically employed in criminological survey research.

Author

• Darren Wheelock, Marquette University