The Criminal Justice System is both flawed and ever-changing. Without expungement opportunities, many American citizens would be forced into wearing a permanent scarlet letter as a consequence for non-threatening, ordinary mistakes–like accidentally sleeping through jury duty.
21-year-old Deandre Somerville, a Florida resident without any criminal history, recently overslept and did not appear for jury duty. Florida Judge John Kastrenakes ordered Somerville to complete a 10-day jail sentence, one-year probation, 150 hours of community service, a 100+ word apology letter, and pay $233 in fines as punishment for the crime. Naturally, this absurd punishment attracted attention from news outlets, social media, and some federal lawmakers, including Representative Ilhan Omar.
The judge decided to rescind the probation after Somerville read an open letter to the court following his jail sentence. In the letter, Somerville admitted to making an “immature decision” and added that he did not have a criminal record prior to sleeping through jury duty. The Judge’s decision to vacate the contempt finding and sentence of probation was likely brought upon by Somerville’s letter to the court, his lack of criminal history, the publicity surrounding the case, and Rep. Ilhan Omar’s argument that the criminal justice system is “designed to criminalize people of color.” The right step was made to relieve a trustworthy, respectable man from undeserved probation. Somerville’s lawyer added that his client would proceed with “getting his record completely expunged now that the case is over.”
This is just another example of why it’s important for us to have the ability to erase criminal records of those whose crimes don’t match the punishment. If Somerville follows through with the expungement, his criminal record will be destroyed, and he will be given a second chance to live freely without sacrificing any civil liberties. It will be like he never even overslept in the first place.
Don’t let small mistakes place a limit on your life forever. Visit easyexpunctions.com today for affordable, easy record-clearing services.
