美国国家公共电台 NPR Scrubbing The Past To Give Those With A Criminal Record A Second Chance

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Here's a startling figure - almost 1 in 4 American adults has a criminal record. That's according to federal statistics. People charged with or convicted of even minor¹ offenses² can face consequences long after they have paid their debts to society. A criminal record can be a barrier to finding a job, a home or getting a loan. In the past two years, though, many states and cities have been passing or expanding laws to help restore rights. NPR's Eric Westervelt has been looking into this and joins us now. Hey, Eric.

ERIC WESTERVELT, BYLINE³: Hi, Rachel.

MARTIN: Can you just remind us of what the extent of the barriers are?

WESTERVELT: Yeah. Lawyers who work in this area say, look, you can't underestimate, you know, how much a conviction, even for a misdemeanor - and the vast majority of convictions in America are for misdemeanors - can have this ripple⁴ effect and relegate⁵ someone with a record to a kind of permanent second-class status as they try to get their life back in order.

I mean, take the case of Jay Jordan. Jay served seven years in prison for felony robbery when he was young. He's been out for nearly eight years. He's completed his probation⁶. He has no offenses, not even a traffic ticket. And he told me he still faces almost daily hurdles⁷ as he tries to get his life back to normal.

JAY JORDAN: You know, I tried to adopt - right? - was turned down, tried to volunteer at school, was turned down, tried to sell insurance, was turned down, tried to sell used cars, was turned down. So, you know, every single step of the way when I try to better myself and, you know, be able to take care of myself and my family, there are these massive barriers, right? And I'm not alone.

WESTERVELT: He now works for a nonprofit, Rachel, that advocates for the rights of the formerly⁸ incarcerated⁹. And really, the question his group is asking is how long should these convictions be on somebody's record, especially when people have done their time and want to move on and become good citizens.

MARTIN: So there are a lot of states that are trying to change this, right? I mean, my understanding, more than 20 states have passed some kind of laws or made changes to lower these barriers. Why is it happening now?

WESTERVELT: I think two things, Rachel, are driving this. More people on the right and the left agree that mass incarceration¹⁰ and the drug war has just clogged¹¹ the courts and prisons, you know, and has hurt society and the economy. One study shows that unemployment among formerly incarcerated is 27 percent and even higher for African-Americans, over 30 percent.

Number two, I think the legalization of marijuana is a key driver here. Again, there's, you know, this bipartisan sense that it doesn't make sense that people are still paying a big price for something that's now either legal or decriminalized in many states. And one of the most progressive laws that was passed is in Indiana, a solidly Republican state.

Barbara Brosher is a reporter with our member station WFIU in Bloomington. She's part of NPR's criminal justice collaborative, a new reporting partnership¹² with some of our member stations. And Barbara looked into how Indianapolis is helping¹³ people who want a second chance. Let's take a listen to her story.

BARBARA BROSHER, BYLINE: When Indianapolis residents with a criminal record want to turn their lives around, many of them end up in the subbasement of the downtown city county building. The long, gray corridor has concrete walls and almost resembles a jail, but people come to this underground room to escape their criminal pasts. Through one of the only open doors is a large, quiet room. Bold black letters on the back wall say, don't look back. You're not going that way. A young volunteer is helping a man fill out some paperwork.

UNIDENTIFIED VOLUNTEER: And if you don't mind signing right there, right there.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Awesome¹⁴.

UNIDENTIFIED VOLUNTEER: Are you turning it in today or tomorrow?

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Yes, if I can.

BROSHER: This is the Neighborhood Christian¹⁵ Legal Clinic's Expungement¹⁷ Help Desk. They help people file petitions to expunge¹⁶ their records under Indiana's Second Chance law, which legislators passed a few years ago. While it's called expungement, it doesn't actually erase¹⁸ arrests or charges. It just hides them from public view so they won't pop up during a background check. That's what kept happening to Latosha Poston before she came here for help.

LATOSHA POSTON: Sometime we get stuck on our past and let our past guide us.

BROSHER: She's 44 now but ran into trouble shortly after she had her first daughter as a teen. She racked up a lot of arrests over the next two decades for everything from public intoxication¹⁹ to receiving stolen property. But long after she changed, Poston says the charges dogged her.

POSTON: I was asked to move from a low-income apartment because every year they do your re-certification. And I had, like, three theft charges and receiving stolen property, which in low income you can't have that.

BROSHER: Poston says getting her records expunged²⁰ helped her land a much better job in a hospital after working in home health care for nearly 20 years. She's among thousands of people filing petitions under the Second Chance law.

The process appears pretty simple. You file a petition with the court. And for more minor offenses, it must grant the request to seal the record if it meets requirements laid out in the law. A judge has discretion²¹ with more serious felonies, and victims can give input²². The prosecutor²³'s office reviews petitions and can object to sealing records. It helps that Marion County prosecutor Terry Curry²⁴ advocated for the expungement law.

TERRY CURRY: If our goal is to have individuals not reoffend, then in our mind it's appropriate to limit or remove obstacles that are going to inhibit²⁵ their ability to become productive members of our community.

BROSHER: The process is time-consuming and costly²⁶. There are filing fees for every petition, and there are still plenty of people who don't even know expungement is an option. That's why Poston tries to tell everyone she knows about the help desk. It took her a couple of trips down here and 47 days of waiting before the state sealed her records.

POSTON: It felt like something was lifted off because now I feel like - kind of feel like a human.

MARTIN: Interesting to hear what a difference these so-called second chance laws can make in people's lives. If there is, as you say, Eric, a lot of bipartisan support for these kinds of changes, why isn't it everywhere?

WESTERVELT: Well, I spoke²⁷ with an attorney who's worked on this issue for nearly 30 years, Margaret Love. She heads the Collateral²⁸ Consequences Resource Center. And as she put it, state legislatures are all reinventing the wheel here and not talking to each other. They're not sort of sharing best practices or studying what programs have the best outcome. And defender²⁹ offices that help people clear their records, they're often, you know, overworked, understaffed and underfunded.

MARTIN: NPR's Eric Westervelt. We also heard a report from Barbara Brosher of WFIU in Bloomington. She's with NPR's criminal justice reporting collaborative. Eric, thanks so much for bringing this to us.

WESTERVELT: You're welcome.

1 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

2 offenses   

n.进攻( offense的名词复数 )；（球队的）前锋；进攻方法；攻势

参考例句：

• It's wrong of you to take the child to task for such trifling offenses. 因这类小毛病责备那孩子是你的不对。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Thus, Congress cannot remove an executive official except for impeachable offenses. 因此，除非有可弹劾的行为，否则国会不能罢免行政官员。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 ripple   

n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进

参考例句：

• The pebble made a ripple on the surface of the lake.石子在湖面上激起一个涟漪。
• The small ripple split upon the beach.小小的涟漪卷来，碎在沙滩上。

5 relegate   

v.使降级，流放，移交，委任

参考例句：

• We shall relegate this problem to the organizing committee.我们将把这个问题委托组织委员会处理。
• She likes to relegate difficult questions to her colleagues.她总是把困难的问题推给她同事。

6 probation   

n.缓刑(期)，(以观后效的)察看；试用(期)

参考例句：

• The judge did not jail the young man,but put him on probation for a year.法官没有把那个年轻人关进监狱，而且将他缓刑察看一年。
• His salary was raised by 800 yuan after his probation.试用期满以后，他的工资增加了800元。

7 hurdles   

n.障碍( hurdle的名词复数 )；跳栏；（供人或马跳跃的）栏架；跨栏赛

参考例句：

• In starting a new company, many hurdles must be crossed. 刚开办一个公司时，必须克服许多障碍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There are several hurdles to be got over in this project. 在这项工程中有一些困难要克服。 来自辞典例句

8 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

9 incarcerated   

钳闭的

参考例句：

• They were incarcerated for the duration of the war. 战争期间，他们被关在狱中。 来自辞典例句
• I don't want to worry them by being incarcerated. 我不想让他们知道我被拘禁的事情。 来自电影对白

10 incarceration   

n.监禁，禁闭；钳闭

参考例句：

• He hadn't changed much in his nearly three years of incarceration. 在将近三年的监狱生活中，他变化不大。 来自辞典例句
• Please, please set it free before it bursts from its long incarceration! 请你，请你将这颗心释放出来吧！否则它会因长期的禁闭而爆裂。 来自辞典例句

11 clogged   

（使）阻碍( clog的过去式和过去分词 )； 淤滞

参考例句：

• The narrow streets were clogged with traffic. 狭窄的街道上交通堵塞。
• The intake of gasoline was stopped by a clogged fuel line. 汽油的注入由于管道阻塞而停止了。

12 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

13 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

14 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

15 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

16 expunge   

v.除去，删掉

参考例句：

• He could not expunge the incident from his memory.他无法忘掉这件事。
• Remember that you can expunge anything you find undesirable.记住，你可以除去任何你发现令你讨厌的东西。

17 expungement   

n.expunge（擦去，拭去）的变形

参考例句：

18 erase   

v.擦掉；消除某事物的痕迹

参考例句：

• He tried to erase the idea from his mind.他试图从头脑中抹掉这个想法。
• Please erase my name from the list.请把我的名字从名单上擦去。

19 intoxication   

n.wild excitement;drunkenness；poisoning

参考例句：

• He began to drink, drank himself to intoxication, till he slept obliterated. 他一直喝，喝到他快要迷糊地睡着了。
• Predator: Intoxication-Damage over time effect will now stack with other allies. Predator:Intoxication,持续性伤害的效果将会与队友相加。

20 expunged   

v.擦掉( expunge的过去式和过去分词 )；除去；删去；消除

参考例句：

• Details of his criminal activities were expunged from the file. 他犯罪活动的详细情况已从档案中删去。
• His name is expunged from the list. 他的名字从名单中被除掉了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

21 discretion   

n.谨慎；随意处理

参考例句：

• You must show discretion in choosing your friend.你择友时必须慎重。
• Please use your best discretion to handle the matter.请慎重处理此事。

22 input   

n.输入(物)；投入；vt.把(数据等)输入计算机

参考例句：

• I will forever be grateful for his considerable input.我将永远感激他的大量投入。
• All this information had to be input onto the computer.所有这些信息都必须输入计算机。

23 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

24 curry   

n.咖哩粉，咖哩饭菜；v.用咖哩粉调味，用马栉梳，制革

参考例句：

• Rice makes an excellent complement to a curry dish.有咖喱的菜配米饭最棒。
• Add a teaspoonful of curry powder.加一茶匙咖喱粉。

25 inhibit   

vt.阻止，妨碍，抑制

参考例句：

• Don't let ego and greed inhibit clear thinking and hard work.不要让自我和贪婪妨碍清晰的思维和刻苦的工作。
• They passed a law to inhibit people from parking in the street.他们通过一项法令以阻止人们在街上停车。

26 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

27 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

28 collateral   

adj.平行的；旁系的；n.担保品

参考例句：

• Many people use personal assets as collateral for small business loans.很多人把个人财产用作小额商业贷款的抵押品。
• Most people here cannot borrow from banks because they lack collateral.由于拿不出东西作为抵押，这里大部分人无法从银行贷款。

29 defender   

n.保卫者，拥护者，辩护人

参考例句：

• He shouldered off a defender and shot at goal.他用肩膀挡开防守队员，然后射门。
• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。