National News
Time served? Senate passes bill to allow criminal records to be cleared with less delay
May 11, 2016 posted by Steve Brownstein
Under current state law, Missourians convicted of a crime must wait at least a decade and often more before they are allowed to ask the courts to clear their records.
Sen. Bob Dixon, R-Springfield, who sponsored the expungement legislation, labeled it a "jobs bill." He argues the measure would allow Missourians who have spent time in jail or prison to more easily find long-term employment and reintegrate into society. This week, the Missouri Senate passed a bill that would greatly shorten that time span. Advocates say the measure is well-intended and a good step but that it should not take away from the so-called "ban the box" movement that asks employers not to inquire about applicants' criminal history.
"Those people who do live for a while with a clean record, wUnder current law, Missourians must wait 20 years to petition the courts for an expungement of a felony record and 10 years for a misdemeanor. In both cases, the clock doesn't start ticking until any sentence has been served. The legislation approved by the Senate would reduce the waiting periods to five years for a felony conviction and three years for a misdemeanor conviction.
Where the bill comes up short is that most people with criminal histories become repeat offenders shortly after they leave prison, said Betsy Sandbothe of Reentry and Resources, a Springfield organization dedicated to helping people with felony records.
By the time someone with a felony record has been out of prison for three or five years, they likely have been able to secure some employment and are much less likely to commit another serious crime, Sandbothe said. Sandbothe said after years of working with felons, she has only known a couple who have successfully had their criminal histories sealed.
"I think anything is helpful at this point," Sandbothe said, explaining that she likes Dixon's legislation, even though it would have less impact than so-called "ban the box" measures.
"Ban the box" proponents want public and private employers to remove the question, common to many job applications, that asks about an applicant's criminal history. The movement has had some recent victories.e ought to allow those people to clean up their records so they can get a job," Dixon told the News-Leader last week while discussing the bill.
