This sets off a predictable cycle that can lead to poverty and homelessness, often putting people right back in jail or prison. Where is the fairness or justice in this? We are not providing our friends and family a chance at renewal, but instead a lifetime of blocked opportunities.
They will quickly toss an application or resume aside and assume the worst, leaving a supposedly free person chained to the past. Employers, schools and landlords often want nothing to do with someone who has a conviction history. When people return home from jail or prison, they find themselves facing a second sentence. This is a fight that is rooted in human dignity and fairness. That starts with passing Clean Slate legislation in Albany this year, which would put an end to this perpetual punishment by automatically expunging New Yorkers’ conviction histories after a period of time.
This is a system that is designed to make people fail, but we finally have a chance to write a new story together. Under our current system, they are punished long after completion of their sentences and endure a lifetime of difficulty in finding jobs, accessing housing, getting into educational programs, and obtaining countless other opportunities. Take the 2.3 million New Yorkers who have a conviction history. Yet unfortunately, we make renewal and redemption nearly impossible for far too many of our neighbors. That is the core tenet of our faith and, because of this credo, we are called to both celebrate second chances and participate in the triumphs over daily oppressions.
Cuomo)Īround the world those who share my faith are celebrating Easter, the essence of which is finding new life and moving past that which could have destroyed us. (photo: Mike Groll/Office of Governor Andrew M.