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Due to the limited infrastructures in rural areas, residents, rather than officials, bear more responsibility to help facilitate desistance. Residents’ beliefs impact informal supports, manifesting as their willingness to hire, live next to, be friends with, or spend time with re-entering persons, all of which overlap with risk factors for recidivism. Beliefs regarding informal supports do not commensurate with beliefs regarding formal supports – yet – both are integral to desistance. Thus, interviews were conducted with 50 rural residents to examine beliefs regarding informal (hire, live next to) and formal (government assistance) reentry supports. A 6-Phase recursive thematic analysis revealed that reentry support stemmed from recognition of basic human rights, relatability to all humans, defining equality based on need, and belief that redemption is possible (through action or religiosity). Mixed support was related to (mis)trust in the government, financial pros and cons of rehabilitation, belief in strict equality, and interpersonal connections with formerly incarcerated persons. Rural residents’ beliefs were consistent with attribution theories, with judgments of deservedness of reentry supports contingent on time limits, individualized offense considerations, and whether the crime was attributed to dispositional or situational circumstances. We conclude by discussing empowering residents that they can impact reentry success through social connectedness.
Kang et al. (Thu,) studied this question.
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