Why Charlie Rangel Wrangles Sponsors for HR 623 – Doin’ What’s Right in Washington
The Congressman stated, adopting language first promoted by The Rehabilitated Project, “We need to change how the world treats it’s formerly condemned who now aspire to reclaim their life through civility and good works by passing H.R. 623, the ‘Second Chance for Ex-Offenders Act of2007’".
Upon passage, HR 623 will allow first-time, non-violent ex-offenders to prove by clear and convincing evidence to their federal sentencing judge that they have been rehabilitated and deserve re-entry into society. The bill also places several additional burdens of the ex-offender, including satisfying all requirements of their sentence and parole, that they have obtained a high school or GED equivalency degrees and have remained free of drug and alcohol dependency. Perhaps the most rigorous requirement is that they complete a full year of community service in order to get any relief.
Commenting on all of these conditions that must be satisfied, Rangel stated, “… this bill would apply only to individuals who have clearly demonstrated their commitment to turning themselves into industrious members of our communities.”
HR 623’s terms require that law enforcement would at all times have access to the facts surrounding the criminal conviction. And, if there is any subsequent state or federal conviction, the effect of H R 623 would be entirely negated and the prior conviction could be used as a sentencing enhancement if applicable.
The reality is that there are limited prospects for persons with criminal records. Each time they acknowledge their criminal pasts on job applications, they are likely to be turned away. H.R. 623 would remove this barrier of the past and lower the rates of recidivism by offering these individuals real opportunities for gaining legitimate employment, Rangel stated.
In other developed countries, such as Australia – which enjoys a far lesser crime rate and a greatly smaller proportional prisoner population – ex-offenders are not even required to disclose a conviction unless it is directly relevant to the specific requirements of a prospective job, or involves child molestation, and even that requirement can dissipate with the passage of time since “relevancy” diminishes with continued good citizenship, according to the Australian Human Rights & Equal Opportunity Commission.
“The unfortunate alternative is for society to continue to be victimized by ex-offenders who, having given up all hope of employment, resort to careers in crime. That means more broken homes, neglected children, poverty and additional burdens to taxpayers. ‘Second Chance’ is a critically important step toward rescuing our communities from the cycle of recidivism,” the Congressman added. In fact, the United States’ National Council on Crime and Delinquency states, “The US incarcerates at a rate 4 to 7 times higher than other western nations such as the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Germany and up to 32 times higher than nations with the lowest rates such as Nepal, Nigeria, and India…” and each of these countries has a crime rate but a small fraction of that of the United States.
Almost all American states have in place a system of expunging records or providing a meaningful chance for ex-offenders to rebuild their life. The federal government has no such system (See: A Federal Conviction – The Gift that Keeps on Giving). H.R. 623 will simply provide that federal ex-offenders have the same second chance as many state offenders.
Marc Mauer, who is the Executive Director of the Sentencing Project, stated “The communities and families that people return to from prison are in desperate need of these resources to allow a smooth transition for those re-entering society. This legislation will begin to provide that assistance,” when referring to S. 1060. a companion bill (also entitled “Second Chance Act”).
The evils that can be cured by legislation such as H.R. 623 can be summarized by a recent comment on the Capitol Watch website by an ex-offender named Bill, “I was a rebellious youth and reached out for attention the only way I knew how, when I was very young. Now, I'm a completely different person, if you can see the difference between you at 18 and you at 30, it is no different for me. But here I am at 30; I still have a job history of only being hired when I lie on my application and fired when I'm figured out. Twice I was not fired when figured out, instead the employer stopped paying me until I simply quit. Now I'm in College going for my Bachelor's and I'm afraid that, even if I can get my record expunged, my juvenile-looking work history will create further employment problems.” If Bill were convicted by a federal court he will never get relief unless HR 623 becomes the law of the land.
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Copyright © 2007 by The Rehabilitated Project All Rights Reserved
Author: Charles Benninghoff
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