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Stigmatizing 'evildoers': how beliefs about evil and public stigma explain criminal justice policy preferences.

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Title: Stigmatizing 'evildoers': how beliefs about evil and public stigma explain criminal justice policy preferences.
Authors: Silver, Jason R. (AUTHOR), Shi, Luzi (AUTHOR), Hickert, Audrey (AUTHOR)
Source: Psychology, Crime & Law. Nov2025, Vol. 31 Issue 10, p1366-1389. 24p.
Subjects: Criminal justice policy, Social stigma, Moral attitudes, Lex talionis, Narratives, Criminal justice system
Abstract: Characterizations of offenders as 'evil' appear in popular entertainment, political rhetoric, and scholarship and may be rooted in widely endorsed cultural narratives. Integrating psychological and criminological literatures, we argue that endorsement of good-and-evil myths may be associated with criminal justice policy support via stigmatizing attitudes about those who engage in crime. We partially tested these hypotheses in a preliminary study using an online convenience sample (recruited using Amazon MTurk in 2015), then tested the full theoretical model using more comprehensive measures in a survey of American adults conducted via Qualtrics Panel in 2021 (N = 1,162). We found that both belief in evil (i.e. belief in evil forces) and belief in redemptive violence (i.e. belief in a clash between good and evil) were positively associated with punitive policy support, and stigmatizing attitudes partially mediated the effects of both. While belief in redemptive violence was negatively associated with rehabilitative policy support and stigmatizing attitudes mediated that relationship, belief in evil was not associated with support for rehabilitation. We consider the implications of our findings for mitigating the harms of public stigma and punitive criminal justice policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Psychology, Crime & Law is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
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  Data: Stigmatizing 'evildoers': how beliefs about evil and public stigma explain criminal justice policy preferences.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Silver%2C+Jason+R%2E%22">Silver, Jason R.</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Shi%2C+Luzi%22">Shi, Luzi</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Hickert%2C+Audrey%22">Hickert, Audrey</searchLink> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Psychology%2C+Crime+%26+Law%22">Psychology, Crime & Law</searchLink>. Nov2025, Vol. 31 Issue 10, p1366-1389. 24p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Criminal+justice+policy%22">Criminal justice policy</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+stigma%22">Social stigma</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Moral+attitudes%22">Moral attitudes</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Lex+talionis%22">Lex talionis</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Narratives%22">Narratives</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Criminal+justice+system%22">Criminal justice system</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Characterizations of offenders as 'evil' appear in popular entertainment, political rhetoric, and scholarship and may be rooted in widely endorsed cultural narratives. Integrating psychological and criminological literatures, we argue that endorsement of good-and-evil myths may be associated with criminal justice policy support via stigmatizing attitudes about those who engage in crime. We partially tested these hypotheses in a preliminary study using an online convenience sample (recruited using Amazon MTurk in 2015), then tested the full theoretical model using more comprehensive measures in a survey of American adults conducted via Qualtrics Panel in 2021 (N = 1,162). We found that both belief in evil (i.e. belief in evil forces) and belief in redemptive violence (i.e. belief in a clash between good and evil) were positively associated with punitive policy support, and stigmatizing attitudes partially mediated the effects of both. While belief in redemptive violence was negatively associated with rehabilitative policy support and stigmatizing attitudes mediated that relationship, belief in evil was not associated with support for rehabilitation. We consider the implications of our findings for mitigating the harms of public stigma and punitive criminal justice policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
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  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Psychology, Crime & Law is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=pbh&AN=189009544
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      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1080/1068316X.2024.2364286
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        PageCount: 24
        StartPage: 1366
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      – SubjectFull: Criminal justice policy
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Social stigma
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Moral attitudes
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Lex talionis
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      – SubjectFull: Narratives
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Criminal justice system
        Type: general
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      – TitleFull: Stigmatizing 'evildoers': how beliefs about evil and public stigma explain criminal justice policy preferences.
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            NameFull: Shi, Luzi
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            – D: 01
              M: 11
              Text: Nov2025
              Type: published
              Y: 2025
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