Do exonerees face housing discrimination? An email-based field experiment and content analysis.

Two studies examined housing discrimination against exonerees. In Study 1, we sent 1,203 emails inquiring about active apartment listings, each of which ostensibly came from an ex-offender, an exoneree, or a person with no criminal history. Compared to the control condition (51%), both ex-offenders (40%) and exonerees (regardless of whether they self-described as “exonerated,” “wrongly convicted,” or “innocent”; 34–41%) were less likely to receive any response. Moreover, a content analysis suggested that replies to exonerees tended to be less welcoming (e.g., more mentions of background checks, fewer invitations to view the apartment) than replies to nonincarcerated controls. In Study 2, 351 naïve community members rated the helpfulness and friendliness of the replies from Study 1, but no differences between conditions emerged. All told, exonerees experienced both overt and subtler forms of discrimination, regardless of how they self-described. Our findings can, and should, inform contemporary policy decisions over the provision of transitional services for exonerees, especially with respect to housing assistance, expungement, and financial compensation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)
Source: Psychology, Public Policy, and Law - Category: Medical Law Source Type: research