The penal escalation hypothesis holds that people’s (mis)perception of prisons as being inadequately harsh will influence their punitive attitudes toward other punishments and components of the criminal justice system. In this study, I present the first test of the penal escalation hypothesis with survey data from residents of the United States of America. I find that people’s perceptions of life and conditions in prison are significantly related to their opinions about other punitive and progressive aspects of criminal justice policy and practice. I argue that these findings should lead scholars to reevaluate the importance of instrumental versus symbolic factors when attempting to explain variation in people’s opinions about punishment and justice.
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