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

Abstract

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.

“You Are Not the Tenant I am Looking For”

“…Prior research has demonstrated housing discrimination toward individuals with a criminal history (e.g., Evans & Porter, 2015;Kukucka et al, 2021) and individuals belonging to racial minority groups (e.g., Carpusor & Loges, 2006;Hanson et al, 2011). The current findings extend this research by analyzing landlords' initial written correspondence with potential renters.…”

“…In interviews with 115 wrongfully convicted individuals, approximately half reported that they were dependent upon families, friends -or even lawyers -for housing support (Roberts & Stanton, 2007). In a recent study by Kukucka et al (2021), researchers sent rental email inquiries across the U.S. from individuals who were supposedly either convicted, wrongfully convicted (selfdescribed as "exonerated," "wrongfully convicted," or "innocent") or had no criminal history. Results revealed that both convicted and wrongfully convicted individuals (regardless of label) were less likely to receive a response from landlords than those without a criminal history.…”

“…Although research has established that landlords are less willing to rent to individuals with a criminal history (e.g., Doble & Lindsay 2003;Ondrich et al, 2003) and to individuals from racial minority groups (e.g., Carpusor & Loges, 2006;Ewens et al, 2014), research has only begun to explore the intersectionality of these stigmas (e.g., Evans et al, 2019) and how wrongful conviction fits in (Kukucka et al, 2021). Quantitative audit studies that rely on dichotomous outcome variables (e.g., Hanson et al, 2011) are valuable, however they risk underestimating the amount of prejudice and discrimination that stigmatized groups face insofar as they do not account for instances of subtle discrimination.…”

“…Accordingly, our aim is to look beyond the general patterns of housing discrimination to investigate the communication patterns that precede a landlords' rental decision. Research by Kukucka et al (2021) demonstrated that landlords were less likely to tell convicted and wrongfully convicted individuals that an apartment was available, and more likely to mention a background check. Relatedly, Hanson et al (2011) found that the same landlords replied more quickly, were more likely to use descriptive, formal, and polite language when describing the unit, and were more likely to invite further correspondence and opportunities for viewing, when replying to emails from someone with a stereotypical White name than a stereotypical Black name.…”

The Exoneree Health and Life Experiences (ExHaLE) Study: Trauma Exposure and Mental Health among Wrongly Convicted Individuals

“…Several studies have gauged public attitudes toward wrongly convicted individuals, generally finding that exonerees-despite their innocence-are negatively stereotyped and stigmatized similarly to actual offenders (e.g., Blandisi et al, 2015;Clow & Leach, 2015a;Thompson et al, 2012; for an exception, see Tudor-Owen et al, 2019; for a review, see Faison & Smalarz, 2019). Accordingly, field experiments have found that exonerees face employment discrimination (Clow, 2017;Kukucka et al, 2020) and housing discrimination (Kukucka et al, 2021;Zannella et al, 2020) comparable to offenders, which present considerable barriers to reintegration. To explain such findings, researchers have speculated that the public may doubt exonerees' innocence (perhaps to preserve their belief in a just world; Hafer & Bègue, 2005;Scherr et al, 2018a) and/or believe that exonerees have been corrupted by their prison experience (i.e., stigma-by-association; Clow et al, 2012;Goffman, 1963).…”