Second Chances

It is no secret that individuals with felonies have difficulties getting their basic needs met - housing and employment, to name a few. With felonies on record, many individuals who’ve worked to better themselves do not have access to the vital resources needed to succeed in modern-day society. Expungement is often the only option and a limited one.

Unfortunately, expungement protocol has been largely inaccessible for those in marginalized communities.

An individual must have stable employment to be able to file for an expungement. For stable employment, individuals are often required to pass a background check, where felonies disqualify an individual from having gainful employment. This creates a feedback loop of basic needs not being met, which can lead to re-offending, exploitation, and recidivism.

In speaking with Terri Forliti, founder and executive director of Breaking Free, one thing has been clear - the need for change in how we view those with felonies and how those with felonies are treated in our system.

This change in how and which records are expunged will be the difference. Previously, only misdemeanors were eligible for expungement - yet, misdemeanors don’t impede housing. This change will allow for those with non-violent felonies to have a chance at true rehabilitation.

“To have a felony criminal record, expunged doesn’t mean the crime is erased from the books. It just makes it unavailable to the public,” MN Attorney General Keith Ellison stated in this recent article.

Some individuals may ask, “Why is this a good thing? Won’t it decrease citizens’ safety?

The short answer is no.

The goal of the American penal system is retribution, incapacitation, deterrence, and finally, rehabilitation. Our current system stops after incapacitation, in that individuals are not deterred from crime or rehabilitated without access to stable housing, training, and/or employment.

How is that rehabilitation?

Some individuals may say, “People committing crimes knew the risks; they deserve the punishment,” but that thought process doesn’t allow for consideration of those who didn’t have a choice.

Those whose options for a hot meal may include a dumpster from a business that may call law enforcement.

Those whose options for hydration may include water fountains from public shopping centers that close after 6 pm.

Those whose options for housing may include a tent in sub-zero temps or no shelter at all.

Those whose options for safety may include fulfilling the requests of a pimp.

For survivors of trafficking, including individuals like Terri and the population Breaking Free serves, those are your options. “Everyone I know that has been in the life has charges including forgery, theft, fraud, or all of the above,” Terri said during a recent conversation. The ability to have those charges expunged not only allows for employment and housing, but it also provides for the possibility of reestablishing self-esteem. “Those of us who have committed crimes in the past matter,” Terri continued, “This sends the message that you don’t have to be defined by the mistakes you’ve made.”

To have escaped the horrors of that life is complicated enough on its own. To be repeatedly penalized for their past, long after their dues to society have been considered met, is a cruel and unusual punishment. This change is huge in what it means for survivors, a chance at true rehabilitation for many, yet it is only a step towards reforming our justice system.