Reform advocates tell lawmakers more access to expungement could save state money, help people secure employment
Sep. 28—In Oklahoma, expungement reform offers a second chance for people convicted of lower level crimes, but making the expungement process easier is the first step to reform, Ryan Haynie, a Criminal Justice Reform Fellow at Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs said.
Expungement is the sealing of criminal records for people who have had charges dismissed, pardoned, deferred or even go long enough without other convictions. There are exceptions for violent and sexual offenses.
Rep. Nicole Miller (R-Edmond), hosted an interim study Aug. 31 to look at the issues surrounding expungement in Oklahoma and see if there are potential ways to reform it.
The Oklahoma House of Representatives heard from multiple people looking to reform the criminal justice system.
Haynie, along with Erin Brewer, a second-chance employer; Brett Tolman, the Executive Director for Right on Crime; Rep. Meloyde Blancett (D-Tulsa) and Colleen McCarthy with Oklahomans for Criminal Justice Reform were just a few people who spoke at the study.
Haynie said most of the work he does deals with collateral consequences within the criminal justice system like fines and fees as well as working to expand eligibility and access to expungement. In Oklahoma he said expungement can be "life changing" for a variety of areas including employment, military service, education and more.
An expungement doesn't automatically destroy the person's record, but after 10 years of no criminal involvement it can be, he said.
Haynie said making the expungement process easier for people who are eligible would be a good first step in reform.
Brewer discussed what it was like to be a second-chance employer and how she initially had the wrong idea about people with a criminal history.
"What we learned is that we were totally wrong in any of our hesitancy and prejudice, or ill-conceived ideas on what those employees might be like," she said.
Brewer said sometimes the employees with a criminal record were better than traditional workforce people.
Out of over 200 employees, Brewer said she only had to let two people go.
"Honestly, they were stable. They wanted to work. They wanted to learn and they typically came with skills," she said.
Brewer said she saw her employees struggle because of the barriers.
Rep. Rande Worthen (R-Lawton) the Judiciary Criminal Chair, asked Brewer if it was a person's individual motivation and desire to follow the law or the system itself that affected whether someone reoffends or not.
"I do think there is a significant amount of individual determination absolutely," Brewer said, "but I also think even the strongest person can collapse under an overly harsh burden. So I think there's a mix, I saw both."
Tolman said when he was 12, his sister was a victim of a violent crime, that was when he decided he wanted to "catch the bad guys."
He spent more than 25 years working within the criminal justice system and said he has a "unique" experience to offer the house and his views on expungement.
Tolman said he believes conservative voices are needed within criminal justice reform.
"It's shocking to me that conservatives have not realized that the one area of the government that we have failed to hold accountable is the criminal justice system," he said. "Both financially, statutorily and legislatively."
Tolman said both political sides have been in competition on who can be tougher on crime.
"Well, I'm here to argue to each of you, being tough on crime means you are going to implement policies that reduce crime, and that is not always just punishment of the criminal," he said.
In Utah, Tolman said they passed an automatic expungement law that expunges certain arrests and certain misdemeanors, but excludes certain sex offenses and violent crimes.
Tolman told the members that the single biggest reducer of recidivism is not having a job.
Miller told the members she didn't have all the answers, but she believes this is an issue worth working on.
