State lawmakers are currently discussing a plan to seal many criminal records to aid convicts in securing employment and housing.
However, Republican opposition is focused on the difficulty in assessing recidivism. A pivotal question for Democrats is determining the length of time a conviction should impact a person’s life.
The proposed Clean Slate Act, supporting the sealing of some conviction records after a certain period post-sentence, is a significant part of these deliberations.
John Jay College research underscored the broad implications of sealing records, revealing that over a million convictions in New York are at least 20 years old and Black New Yorkers are disproportionately affected by these long-lasting convictions.
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