Black males have higher rates of incarceration and of repeat offenses that land them back in jail or prison, statistics show.Changing that dynamic could begin with expunging their criminal records.
That was the consensus of a discussion Thursday sponsored by the Gary Commission on the Social Status of Black Males in conjunction with the East Chicago-based group Working Outside the Walls and an alliance of grassroot activists.
The panel discussion brought together activists, religious leaders, law enforcement officers and area legislators to talk about a possible Expungement Summit in Northwest Indiana. Expunging the criminal records of juveniles and adults would help them find jobs and turn their lives around, said Bennie Muhammed, GCSSBM executive director.
Dorothy Brown, clerk of the Cook County (Ill.) Circuit Court, outlined how she has organized expungement summits across the state line.
"It's important for all our communities because we all have the same problem," she said.
Brown recommended that all agencies working with ex-offenders help organize and participate in an expungement summit. That includes police departments, the courts, lawyers, the public defenders office and the prison review board, Brown said.
"This helps ex-offenders to see us all working together to give them a second chance," she said.
Some offenses, however, don't qualify for expungement, including first-degree murder, sexual offense of a minor and DUI, Brown said.
So let me see. If I'm black, I can get a rape (as long as it's not a minor) expunged but not a DUI?
Read the rest of this stupidity here........
1 comment:
Sorry Mr. Gekko but the newspaper actually printed my comments incorrectly. First of all the expungement process is for all people not just Blacks. Secondly, the comment related to the offenses that qualify for expungement related to juveniles only. I will be contacting the reporter to ask her to correct the article.
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