Early release from prison in time of COVID-19: Determinants of unfavourable decisions towards Black prisoners

Abstract

On the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the overcrowding in prisons led to efforts to decarcerate in order to prevent and control outbreaks in prisons. This study analyses how public support for such exceptional measures are determined by cognitive and ideological factors known to create and maintain racial biases in the criminal system. Participants were asked to express their level of agreement with the early-release of hypothetical prisoners. Results showed participants to be less favourable to the early-release of Black compared to White prisoners, when they had committed a stereotypically Black crime. As expected, the congruency between the crime stereotypicality and the colour of the prisoner’s skin did not emerge for White prisoners. Moreover, the difference between the agreement with the release of the Black vs. the White prisoner when both committed a stereotypically Black crime was higher as the level of endorsement of Meritocracy increased. Contrastingly, Anti-egalitarianism only predicted an overall disagreement with prisoners’ early-release. This paper highlights the cumulative explanation by different levels of analysis of this current problem and implications for the development of the public opinion on penal subjects.

Is compassion the flip side of punitiveness? Incorporating COVID-19 crisis in experimental vignettes to examine support for visitation and vaccination in prison

“…Although not central to our analyses, we also found relationships among policy support and respondent characteristics worth noting. Consistent with prior work, conservative respondents were less likely to support either compassionate policy (e.g., Denney & Garibaldo Valdez, 2021;, while respondents scoring high on racial resentment were less supportive of PPE for visitation (e.g., Ivanov et al, 2021;Jackl, 2021;Miranda et al, 2021;Pickett & Baker, 2014;. Worry about COVID-19 was associated with greater support for compassionate policies in both experiments; however, having personal or vicarious experience with COVID-19 (positive test, hospitalization) was not, consistent with mixed results in prior work (Eno Louden et al, 2021;Ivanov et al, 2021).…”

“…Factors predicting support for compassionate COVID-19 policies included racial attitudes (Denney & Garibaldo Valdez, 2021;Ivanov et al, 2021;Miranda et al, 2021), stigma (Eno Louden et al, 2021 and empathy (Ivanov et al) toward prisoners, "hierarchy enhancing ideologies" such as meritocracy and anti-egalitarianism (Miranda et al, 2021), and perceptions of risk,fear) (Denney & Garibaldo Valdez, 2021;Eno Louden et al, 2021;Ivanov et al, 2021). Experimental conditions presenting respondents with additional information about current events show mixed results.…”

“…org/ 2020/ 03/ 17/ track ing-priso ns-respo nse-to-coron avirus) among other stories. months of the pandemic, many months before COVID-19 vaccines became available (Denney & Garibaldo Valdez, 2021;Eno Louden et al, 2021;Ivanov et al, 2021;Miranda et al, 2021). 2 Across the studies, support for release options was moderate at best.…”

The Risk of COVID-19 Infection in Prisons and Prevention Strategies: A Systematic Review and a New Strategic Protocol of Prevention

“…In the absence of recommendations from state governments, many prisons acted independently and were unable to prevent infection, developing outbreaks. According to some authors [ 54 ], action should be taken on three levels: macro level by raising the awareness of state governments; medium level through unique protection policies in cities; and at the micro level through the single detention center. The recommendations provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) [ 55 ] include the administration of mass tests through PCR obtained by means of swabs inside prisons, regardless of the presence of symptoms.…”

“I Just Don’t Know What to Believe”: Sensemaking during the COVID-19 Pandemic among Criminal Legal Involved Communities

“…These communities are more likely to face economic and structural disparities because of systemic racism, unequal access to healthcare, and higher rates of comorbidities that increase the risk of infection and mortality [ 3 , 6 , 7 ]. Those involved with the criminal legal system experience even greater vulnerability to infection, transmission, and mortality [ 8 , 9 ], facing additional systemic barriers due to criminal legal involvement (e.g., prior incarcerations or probationary status affecting employability or housing security). As the pandemic continues, vulnerabilities related to employment, housing safety, food security, health, and well-being have been magnified [ 9 , 10 , 11 ].…”