Belief in Redeemability and Punitive Public Opinion: “Once a Criminal, Always a Criminal” Revisited
In 2009, Maruna and King presented results from a British survey showing that the public’s belief in the redeemability of people who committed offenses curbed their level of punitiveness. Based on a 2017 national survey in the United States (n = 1,000), the current study confirms that redeemability...
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Contributors: | ; ; ; ; |
Format: | Electronic Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
2020
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In: |
Criminal justice and behavior
Year: 2020, Volume: 47, Issue: 6, Pages: 712-732 |
Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
Journals Online & Print: | |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
Keywords: |
Summary: | In 2009, Maruna and King presented results from a British survey showing that the public’s belief in the redeemability of people who committed offenses curbed their level of punitiveness. Based on a 2017 national survey in the United States (n = 1,000), the current study confirms that redeemability is negatively related to punitive attitudes. In addition, the analyses reveal that this belief predicts support for rehabilitation and specific inclusionary policies (i.e., ban-the-box in employment, expungement of criminal records, and voting rights for people with a felony conviction). Findings regarding measures for punishment and rehabilitation were confirmed by a 2019 Mechanical Turk (MTurk) survey. These results suggest that beliefs about capacity for change among people who committed offenses are key to understanding crime-control public policy. |
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ISSN: | 1552-3594 |
DOI: | 10.1177/0093854820913585 |