Advocates for the Clean Slate Act rally outside the State Capitol on December 1, 2022. Photo: Karen DeWitt
Criminal justice reform advocates in favor of the proposed Clean Slate Act held rallies across the state this week.
The Clean Slate Act would seal old conviction records for certain crimes. Advocates say it would help New Yorkers who’ve completed criminal sentences to remake their lives by allowing them to obtain jobs, housing, and educational opportunities more easily.
Under the act, misdemeanor conviction records would be automatically sealed after three years, and felony conviction records after seven years, as long as the convicted person had completed their sentence, had not been charged with or convicted of any new crimes, and was not on parole.
Some businesses are also backing the measure, including Verizon, Microsoft, and JP Morgan Chase. Paul Zuber, with the Business Council of New York State, spoke in support of the act at a rally.
“It gives people an opportunity to be judged on the people they are now, rather than the people they were in their past,” Zuber said. He noted that those affected would still have to go through hiring processes and be evaluated alongside other job candidates.
Zuber said the Business Council helped write the bill, and that it includes safeguards for employers. Any job that requires fingerprinting as a condition of employment is excluded from the proposal. He said the bill could even help bring down the crime rate.
“There’s a lot of talk about crime in this country,” he said. “Well, what are we doing when we are not giving people jobs?”
Criminal justice advocates were quieter throughout most of the 2022 campaign season, which included Democratic Governor Hochul’s close race to seek election to a full term in office. During the campaign, Republicans highlighted New York’s increased violent crime rate, linking it to the state’s 2019 bail reform. Data does not show that bail reform caused the crime spike.
Katie Schaffer, a spokeswoman for the Clean Slate Act, said organizers focused more on actions in local legislative districts during the fall.
Advocates are now planning a series of events for the start of the 2023 legislative session, including more rallies at the Capitol in January.
Source link