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CJUS 230 One Page#1 - CJUS 230 with Professor
Presley One Page Assignment.
Criminal Justice Research and Writing (Liberty University)
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Running Head: INDEFINITE PUNISHMENT AND THE CRIMINAL RECORD
Indefinite Punishment and the Criminal Record
Liberty University
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INDEFINITE PUNISHMET AND THE CRIMINAL RECORD
Abstract
Although criminal records in the United States are more publicly accessible than ever before, we
lack knowledge about how record-bearers seek to overcome the negative consequences
associated with a visible criminal record as they apply for jobs, housing, and financial aid.
Furthermore, although criminal histories record all arrests—and not just those that result in
conviction—researchers have yet to compare how those with more extensive versus minor
criminal records cope with criminal record stigma. We present interview data from a
comparative study of expungement-seekers (N = 53) who have petitioned the courts to remove
their criminal records from public view. One group had extensive criminal records (46 percent);
the other group had more minor criminal records (54 percent). Several key findings emerged.
First, both groups of participants tried, but failed, to persuade potential employers and landlords
to overlook the criminal record. They also faced restricted educational opportunity. Second,
participants in both groups expressed distress that criminal justice contact could follow them
throughout their lives, subjecting them to ongoing stigma. However, those with extensive versus
minor criminal records offered different rationales explaining why the visible criminal record
history unfairly burdened them. Implications for reintegration theory and policy are discussed.
Keywords: interviewing, criminal records, reintegrative discipline
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INDEFINITE PUNISHMET AND THE CRIMINAL RECORD
Indefinite Punishment and the Criminal Record
This study looks at the lasting stigma of having a criminal record by interviewing people
with both major felonies and minor misdemeanors. Ispa-Landa and Loeffler (2016) talk about
how the increased ease of background checks, and the subsequent visibility of criminal records
has made it challenging for record-bearers to move on with their lives (p. 388). Their research
includes documenting the challenges that the participants faced while trying to find work, and
the life-long stigma that is permanently attached to their name. In the study, Ispa-Landa and
Loeffler (2016) also “examined the strategies participants used to try to overcome the negative
consequences of criminal record stigma and their emotional and cognitive responses to blocked
opportunity” (p. 388). This study mainly focused on people with criminal records in Illinois, so
more research will be necessary to identify trends on a more national scale.
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INDEFINITE PUNISHMET AND THE CRIMINAL RECORD
References
Ispa-Landa, S., & Loeffler, C. (2016). Indefinite punishment and the criminal record:
Stigma reports among expungement-seekers in Illinois. Criminology, 54(3). 387-
412. doi: 10.1111/1745-9125.12108
