The only way for an ex-con to reintegrate back into society is for society to provide the opportunity for him to do so. These opportunities diminish when employers get a glimpse at a messy criminal record. Providing a fresh start could be the best approach to prevent people from going back to prison. Alabama could be the latest state to provide a fresh start by proposing a new bill, Senate Bill 14, that would expunge the records of some non-violent criminals.
The bill would allow people who have been convicted of some non-violent misdemeanor offenses to have the conviction expunged from their record. This would only happen after these individuals have fulfilled all of their parole requirements. While the state currently allows expunctions for some misdemeanor charges, there has never been the ability to remove convictions from records.
The overall purpose is to help ex-cons make a smoother transition back into society after release. Senator Cam Ward says he is sponsoring bills like the expungement one because the state’s criminal justice system is at a crisis point. He specified that violent crimes do not apply to the bill, which is mostly geared towards Class A misdemeanors. Ward is also on a mission to lower the filing cost for expungement, which would be raised to $500 if the bill passes.
Though a similar bill passed the Senate last year, it didn’t have time to pass through the house committee. This is a huge step for Alabama, which until now, only allowed for charges to be expunged if there was not a guilty verdict, a dismissal, a grand jury no bill, or with completion of a diversion. Senate Bill 14 would make it easier for those with criminal records to break the cycle of recidivism and search for job opportunities with a clean slate.
