The Effects of an Incarcerated Person’s Gender Identity and Crime Type on Mock Parole Board Members’ Decisions

Abstract

Parole members are tasked with deciding which incarcerated person is granted parole; however, factors such as the incarcerated person’s gender identity in combination with the crime committed could negatively affect this decision. This study investigated the effects of the incarcerated person’s gender identity (male, female, nonbinary) and crime committed (sexual assault, theft/larceny) on mock parole members’ decisions and perceptions of the incarcerated person. MTurk participants (N = 467) acted as mock parole board members. Participants read vignettes describing an incarcerated person eligible for parole, and participants rated their likelihood to release the incarcerated person and perception of the incarcerated person. We found that the incarcerated person’s gender identity affected participants’ parole decisions and perceptions of the incarcerated person, such that, in general, male incarcerated people were perceived more negatively than nonbinary and female incarcerated people, and female incarcerated people were perceived the most positively. Crime severity also affected parole decisions, such that incarcerated people who commit a crime of sexual assault were less likely to receive parole and were perceived the most negatively compared to incarcerated people who commit a crime of theft/larceny. There was no interaction between the incarcerated person’s gender identity and crime severity. This study can provide insight on perceptions of nonbinary incarcerated people, and how these perceptions compare to binary incarcerated people.