Easter Sunday captures the essence of a second chance. The trial, the conviction, and the crucifixion all led to an empty tomb. With our Easter lilies in full bloom, believers gather across the commonwealth and the world with the unifying theme of a second chance. Coincidentally, April is also recognized as Second Chance Month. People need and deserve a second chance.
As a pastor, I am charged with not only guiding parishioners through a spiritual second chance but also legal second chances. Yet in Massachusetts, some of our policies do not yet reflect those values.
One in five people in Massachusetts has a criminal record, and many are due to cases that were dismissed or offenses committed decades ago. Criminal offender record information (CORI) in Massachusetts can follow someone for life. It can appear on a background check and block access to employment, housing, education, and even the chance to start a small business. While state law technically allows most CORIs to be sealed after a waiting period, the petition process is so confusing and time-consuming that most people do not complete it, and others do not even know that CORI sealing is a possibility.
As a result, hundreds of thousands of people who have already paid their debt to society remain locked out of opportunities.
Passing a Clean Slate law (cleanslatema.org/) in Massachusetts would change that. Clean Slate would automate the CORI sealing process once someone is eligible. According to current state law, the sealing process requires three years for most misdemeanors and seven years for most felonies. Clean Slate would eliminate the complicated legal process that currently exists.
Across Massachusetts, employers are struggling to find workers, especially in health care, transportation, and the trades. At the same time, more than one million adults in the Commonwealth have some form of criminal record that can make passing a background check incredibly difficult.
Clean Slate would help close that gap by allowing qualified, capable people to reenter the workforce and contribute to their communities. Studies show that cleared records lead to higher rates of employment and increased incomes.
By passing a Clean Slate law, as thirteen other states already have, Massachusetts can remove barriers that the law says it should and ensure that people who have done the work to rebuild their lives are not permanently defined by their past.
When we are granted a second chance, we have stronger families, healthier local economies, and more stable neighborhoods. As we reflect on the redemption of Easter Sunday, let us remember those who are legally seeking a second chance. ■