A Second Chance

by Matt Kelley · 2009-06-09 05:45:00 UTC
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The way out of the state of incarceration we've built isn't to open the doors and let everyone out. It's not to stop convicting people of crimes. The only way it will happen is through gradual reform and a focus on providing pathways out of the system for people who get tangled up in the system and make the personal commitment to get out. Our overcomplicated system is nearly impossible to navigate unscathed, and there aren't many pathways leading out.

A bill before Congress aims to change that. Intended to work hand-in-hand with parole reforms and improvements to good time, the Second Chance for Ex-Offenders Act (HR 1529) would offer a path to expungement for someone who has served his or her sentence for a first-time, non-violent federal offense and has met other requirements, like earning a high school diploma or G.E.D. and fulfilling any court-imposed substance abuse treatment requirements.

By opening doors to employment, housing and reintegration for non-violent individuals who have served their sentences, this bill can be an important puzzle piece in the sweeping criminal justice reform our country needs, and it deserves your support.

Change.org community member Thomas Kinney started a petition urging our elected representatives to support this bill that can change thousands of lives for the better. It will take a groundswell of public support to make it happen, because politicians don't often want to touch legislation that they fear makes them seem friendly to criminals. This year is different, public opinion is changing on harsh punishment (80% of Americans favor non-prison terms for minor crimes). The Second Chance Act could pass, but it needs your help. Sign the petition here.

Jamie Woodard, a New Jerseyan with a ten-year-old mail fraud conviction, has set up a website - We Deserve Our Lives Back - to support the bill as well. Woodard writes:

Ten years ago, I was convicted of theft of mail and ten yrs later I continue to pay for that valueless moment in my life. I belittled myself and inconvenienced many people, ten yrs later I should not have to continue to pay for that same mistake. I deserved my punishment, I deserved the hardship that I encountered after my release, I deserved the denials of employment and having to regain societies trust and I deserve my life back.

...Gainful employment is a stepping stone to a life long commitment to be productive again in society. We deserve careers and a second chance at an untarnished re-entry to the employment environment. I'm not making an excuse for what I did but we deserve a second chance.

Help dedicated, driven people like Woodard overcome past mistakes and achieve success. Sign the petition for a Second Chance today.

Matt Kelley is the Online Communications Manager at the Innocence Project and a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. Follow him on Twitter @mattjkelley.
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