RT Article
T1 Compensating the Innocent: Perceptions of Exonerees’ Deservingness to Receive Financial Compensation for Wrongful Convictions
JF Criminal justice policy review
VO 28
IS 7
SP 710
OP 732
A1 Karaffa, Kerry M.
A2 Koch, Julie M.
A2 Page, Jaimie
LA English
YR 2017
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1725662310
AB Those who have been wrongfully imprisoned face a variety of challenges upon reentering the community, and monetary compensation may be helpful in rebuilding one’s life following a period of incarceration. However, very little is known about factors that may impact public attitudes regarding compensation policy. Using a sample of 396 university students, we investigated the role of exonerees’ race/ethnicity and prior conviction history, as well as participants’ socially dominant and right-wing authoritarian attitudes in explaining beliefs about financial compensation. Results suggest that males, minority group members, and older participants tended to rate hypothetical exonerees as more deserving of financial compensation. Perceptions of deservingness for compensation did not differ according to the exonerees’ race/ethnicity, but exonerees who had no prior convictions were perceived as more deserving compared with those with prior misdemeanor or felony drug convictions. Participants’ right-wing authoritarianism scores were negatively associated with deservingness scores, whereas social dominance orientation scores were not significantly related to deservingness, after controlling for participant demographics and exoneree factors.
K1 Exoneree
K1 Wrongful conviction
K1 Compensation
K1 Social dominance
K1 Right-wing authoritarianism
DO 10.1177/0887403415607049