The federal Clean Slate Act, which establishes a framework for sealing records related to certain federal offenses and addresses “some of the collateral consequences that follow a criminal conviction,” took effect last month, and while some local attorneys view it as a tool for better rehabilitation, others think it is too broad in scope.
“Individuals who commit a crime and later pay their debt to society should not be perpetually burdened by a criminal record,” the law states. “Having a criminal record impedes one’s ability to obtain housing, secure work, and participate fully in modern society. We cannot expect successful rehabilitation without providing these individuals with a way forward that is not encumbered by their past mistakes.”
Unless someone has a pending charge or is currently on probation or parole, the act seals misdemeanor convictions after three years, eight years for certain felony convictions. Class-A felonies and sex offenses are not included.
“On a personal level, I’m all for it,” said Dan Russo, an attorney based in Westhampton Beach. “I think it’s long overdue.” He added that the act should go “a long way toward real rehabilitation.” When a person gets out of jail and cannot find work because of their criminal record, “It seems to me you’re going to be a recidivist,” Mr. Russo said.
Sag Harbor Village Justice Carl Irace, who is also a private attorney, offered a mixed view of the new law. “It’s clear what the Legislature is intending to do here, and the Legislature is the people’s body of government, and they think the people want this, and I can understand why,” he said. He mentioned an earlier law that also allowed for certain types of convictions to be sealed, but it was more complicated, with different conditions. Mr. Irace said he had never had a client who used it. “Maybe it was too out of reach for people, and inaccessible,” he said.
As for the Clean Slate Act, he said, “The purpose of the penal law is to penalize certain conduct that the people have said we want to proscribe or punish or rehabilitate or deter. Without having that accountability of having it on record, I think it reduces some of that longer-term deterrence, but there is the long tail that comes from it,” meaning the long-term effects of a criminal conviction. “It’s complicated,” Mr. Irace concluded.
State Senator Anthony Palumbo, a Republican, took issue with the law earlier this week. “There are certainly folks that deserve another bite at the apple in life and deserve a break, but I think this is just too broad, and it really doesn’t consider victim impact as well,” he said.
As it stands, the new law could “trick” future employers, he continued. “For example, certain types of businesses would not know whether or not an individual was convicted of a crime against a child.” But the senator’s “most significant concern” had to do with the underlying issues in the criminal justice system. “You don’t need to establish anything in order to get the sealing,” Mr. Palumbo said. “You don’t need to prove rehabilitation. You don’t need to prove you’re addressing whatever underlying issues there might be, like addiction, for example.”
“I’m not saying out of hand that I wouldn’t consider a bill like this, but this one just goes way too far,” he said.
“Each person incarcerated is really unique,” said Capt. Kevin Hunt of the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office, during a conversation about jail programs intended to reduce recidivism. “They all have a different story.” The public tends to lump incarcerated individuals into one group, he said, but “they’re people, like you and me . . . they’re going to be driving next to you on the L.I.E., and they’ll be shopping next to you at Stop and Shop.”
Many of the programs offered to county jail inmates are intended to help with unemployment or education upon release, said Captain Hunt, but others are meant to teach inmates to feel “more like citizens.” One such, for example, is a six-week course in which inmates learn about trees. (Those with proper clearance can go outside and plant their own.) They are also taught about natural life cycles, photosynthesis, and employment opportunities in landscaping, Captain Hunt noted.
“Hopefully, those people, when they go back into society, they may show a bit more respect for the natural world around them,” he said. Ideally, he added, they will also feel more connected to their communities.
Religious services, which are held once a week for one hour, are another “staple and a cornerstone,” he said. The Catholic services draw the largest audience, followed by Baptist and Muslim services.
He mentioned two outreach programs intended to assist with parenting. For Mother’s Day, the jail organized “Letters of Love,” in which staff helped inmates craft letters to their children. There’s also the “Long Island Fatherhood Initiative” aimed at “helping dads become better dads.” That one is particularly popular, Captain Hunt said.
In addition, the sheriff’s office runs a “clothing pantry,” providing inmates with certain items of clothes upon release. If someone was arrested in July but isn’t released until December, then “they have no clothes,” Captain Hunt explained. Similarly, they are given food, on the theory that such necessities, usually taken for granted by the public, can be hard for those recently incarcerated to obtain.
“Many times, these people get out, and something simple to you and me, like a ride, they don’t have,” said Captain Hunt. Last year, he said, the sheriff’s office completed 382 “transports,” taking the just-released where they needed to go.
