Article 24: Is Rehabilitation a Habit of the Heart? Public Opinion as Correctional Cultural Capital

Rehabilitation is an American habit of the heart—a core cultural orientation that has existed since the founding of the penitentiary in the 1820s. Using an autobiographical approach, we confirm this thesis by citing surveys we conducted from 1979 to the present. Although punitive, the public supports rehabilitation as an important goal of prisons, favors programming for criminals, and universally approves of treatment for juvenile offenders and early intervention for at-risk youths. They also endorse policies to include, rather than exclude, offenders from the community (e.g., rehabilitation ceremonies, expunging criminal records, reducing collateral consequences). This habit of the heart is a significant cultural resource for practitioners and policy reformers who can use public opinion to justify offender treatment as democracy at work.