Posted on 07/27/2005 7:36:50 AM PDT by twas
Yes, I agree with. Giving them a second chance by expunging one old felony record would probably be good. But if this is used to give them a third and fourth and fifth chance, then that is wrong.
SSSSHHHHHH! Quiet!!!!!! If they hear you the article will be retitled from "The Movement to Expunge Criminal Records Arises in Black America" to "The Movement to White Out Criminal Records Arises in Black America'. These people are confused enough.
Screw this idea!
I need a 55 gallon barrell of credit card record expungment!!
A person doesn't "pay his debt to society" by going to prison; he costs society thousands of dollars a year for his living expenses while there. "Society" doesn't profit by sending people to jail; it performs an unpleasant task necessary to protect itself.
In my opinion, violent criminals and others who committed serious crimes (such as burglary) should never be able to get their records expunged. We can't keep people in prison as long as they could possibly be a danger, and society needs to have a way to evaluate the potential risk of hiring a person. The main use of expungement should be so people can remove smaller things that happened while they were young and stupid, such as drug posession and small property crimes. A person should have to show years of good citizenship to get anything expunged.
Amnesty for everyone!!!
Ha! Now THAT is where the big problem comes in. If the records have been expunged, how will the system know if this is a "second chance", or a "tenth chance"?
I guess I could see some situations where expungement would have some value to society, however, if very liberally applied at all, one of the unintended consequences of expungement is to provide a strong disincentive to "keeping your nose clean". In essence, "Look what he did, and got away with it - why should I try so hard to stay straight?"
Darnit, from the title, I had hoped that there was finally going to be something done about gansta rap.
Scenario: There's an accountant. He embezzles from his employer. He's convicted, goes to jail, and serves his time. Are you saying that if he applies for a job as an accountant again, his prospective employer doesn't need to know that he stole money from his last employer?
If I was hiring an accountant, I'd sure want to know that.
""It's just a fraud to suggest that America is the land of second chances, because clearly it is not," says Margaret Colgate Love."
It's just a fraud to suggest we live in Utopia, where there are no consequences for one's actions. Don't leaders in the African American community ever get tired of squealing about victimization?
I agree that people do make mistakes when they are young.
However, there are also people who are life-long career criminals. If you remove records of what they did in their youth, it makes later crimes seem to be aberrations instead of a life-long pattern of criminal behavior.
I have no doubt that instead of using this as a "second chance" most criminals will use it as a fresh start to get away with future crimes by claiming this was their "first offense".
Rather than expunge records, I would favor an asterisk or other such note be put on record showing the age of the defendant. The police and the public need to know all the facts so they can see a pattern of change or criminal life-style.
The only way to protect the public is to give them the facts they need to protect themselves.
Did he expect the pharmacy would give him the keys to their controlled substances? Sounds like he is still using...
Not a damn thing. It's not my nation.
"The Land of Second Chances". Isn't that interesting? I'm sure some penumbrae will be found in the Constitution to make it an entitlement.
Yeah, but "the time" is a lifetime for some dumb thing you did when you were young, wild, and stupid.
At 21, I was arrested for being drunk and stupid enough to tangle with some gung-ho cops. To complicate matters, it involved a cop who lied. Fortunately, the judge was wise to the cop, or it might have been worse. For 27 years now, if I apply for a job and check the "yes" box at the question, "Have you ever been arrested?", I'm OUT at the ground floor. Believe me. I finally learned to just lie. Have gotten some great smaller jobs doing that, but larger companies have better resources, so whether you lie or not, you're out. It may have been a blessing in disguise, because ultimately it forced me to be self-employed. I'm content with my working lot.
I sympathize with this expungement thing on arrests made for being under the influence of youth and stupidity, but the better answer is for prospective employers to not be so high-and-mighty. The bitterness one feels against them is not constructive. The "F" word comes to mind.
How about a WHITE guy who got a DUI or a D&D when he was 21 and has since lived the life of Ward Cleaver? The problem being... everytime an employer is about to hire him, they do a 'backgound' and see he's got a record?
That is part of the time. If you break the law you must face the music. And a life time record is part of that.
Oh yes, it sounds as though the whole idea is just ripe for abuse. I would guess that the resaon for it is to abuse it anyway. The upstanding citizen has to "keep his nose clean" while OJ get away with murder.
My first thought was, where is this "Black America".
Now I've heard about North America, South America, and even Central America, but no Black America. Then I saw the statement about the Black Nation. What the hell is that? Haiti? Africa? This Muslim communist is doing the communist thing by trying to rewrite history.
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