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Do exonerees face employment discrimination similar to actual offenders?
Author(s) -
Kukucka Jeff,
Applegarth Heather K.,
Mello Abby L.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
legal and criminological psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.65
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 2044-8333
pISSN - 1355-3259
DOI - 10.1111/lcrp.12159
Subject(s) - legislation , psychology , face (sociological concept) , innocence , criminology , criminal history , wage , social psychology , population , political science , law , sociology , demography , social science , psychoanalysis
Purpose Given that criminal offenders face employment discrimination (Ahmed & Lang, 2017, IZA Journal of Labor Policy , 6 ) and wrongly convicted individuals are stereotyped similarly to offenders (Clow & Leach, 2015, Legal and Criminological Psychology , 20 , 147), we tested the hypothesis that exonerees – despite their innocence – face employment discrimination comparable to actual offenders. Methods Experienced hiring professionals ( N = 82) evaluated a job application that was identical apart from the applicant's criminal history (i.e., offender, exoneree, or none). Results As predicted, professionals formed more negative impressions of both the exoneree and offender – but unexpectedly, they stereotyped exonerees and offenders somewhat differently. Compared to the control applicant, professionals desired to contact more of the exoneree's references, and they offered the exoneree a lower wage. Conclusions Paradoxically, exonerees may be worse off than offenders to the extent that exonerees also face employment discrimination but have access to fewer resources. As the exoneree population continues to grow, research can and should inform policies and legislation in ways that will facilitate exonerees’ reintegration.