The 2023 Legislative session is in full swing and Paper Prisons has produced research that has been cited in several ongoing campaigns. Below we highlight key findings from our reports on the “second chance gap” in expungement remedies offered under the laws of Missouri, Oregon, Illinois, Texas, Minnesota, and New York: A summary of the […]
On April 18, 2023, the Public Defenseless Podcast hosted Professor Colleen Chien and law student Alyssa Aguilar from Santa Clara University to discuss the Paper Prisons Initiative. The podcast starts by discussing the speakers’ motivations (5:30). Professor Chien discussed founding the Initiative after her research was validated by the experience of seeing numerous mentees and
On Apr. 1, 2023, the Sentencing Law & Policy Blog highlighted “Proving Actionable Racial Disparity Under the California Racial Justice Act“. Link to Article
Although Clean State reform looks unlikely to pass the New York legislature, Our Town highlights the case for Clean Slate based on Paper Prisons’ research that a Clean Slate Bill “would seal past criminal records up to 1.4 million people, according to one estimate by the Paper Prisons Initiative of Santa Clara University.”
“Connecticut’s ‘clean slate’ law, which is designed to erase certain criminal records after a period of time, took effect earlier this year but has yet to be fully implemented. Here’s what to know about the law.” “The legislation will automatically erase criminal records seven years after the date of a conviction for a misdemeanor or 10 years
“A large percentage of Missourians who could to have their criminal records ‘expunged’ have not done so, despite the effects expungement — referred to as ‘clean slate’ — can have on earnings and opportunities.” “Baker noted many individuals whose records are not expunged struggle to get hired at all, leading to high rates of unemployment.”
On March 22, 2023, Vox Creative made the case for Clean Slate legislation based on Paper Prisons’ “second chance gap” research.
“There is a bill this legislative session that will provide that second chance to thousands of Oregonians. Senate Bill 698, or the “Clean Slate’’ act (sponsored by Sen. Manning), automatically expunges criminal records for people who are eligible. Current law states that individuals convicted of low-level offenses who have completed their sentence and then remained
“In 2021, I co-published a report with Paper Prisons about people in Connecticut with convictions. I also testified for the Clean Slate bill, passed in May 2021, which was supposed to erase the records of misdemeanor and low-level felony convictions after seven or ten years without any conviction. The law was supposed to take effect in January
“The Clean Slate Initiative works to expand and automate the sealing of arrest and conviction records after people have completed their sentence and remained crime-free for a period of time,” according to the organization’s website.” “According to the non-profit’s website, they have helped pass legislation to pave the way for over 7 million people who