
The Path out of ‘Post-Conviction Poverty’
More than 70 million people in the U.S. have criminal convictions on their records. An expert talks with The Appeal about how they can break barriers.
More than 70 million people in the U.S. have criminal convictions on their records. An expert talks with The Appeal about how they can break barriers.
Police are failing to promptly process expungements and continuing to disclose records that should be sealed, according to a lawsuit filed by the state public defender’s office.
Criminal background checks have become nearly ubiquitous in many settings. But experts warn that reports can be deeply inaccurate, with some records databases containing “phantom crimes” that appear nowhere else in public record.
The state Board of Pardons recommended last year that hundreds of people’s criminal records be cleared. Months later, more than half are still waiting for Tom Wolf’s signature.
A rule restricting Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits will have profound consequences for people with criminal legal system involvement.
Last year, Cleveland.com announced that it would consider requests to remove names from long-ago stories about low-level charges.
Elsewhere in the country, lawsuits and legislation seek to protect people from predatory mugshot sites.