
Why states are rushing to seal tens of millions of old criminal records - dcu
https://www.economist.com/united-states/2019/11/16/why-states-are-rushing-to-seal-tens-of-millions-of-old-criminal-records
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SenHeng
> InstantCheckMate

I'm sure the author of this name thought it was just a clever pun, but it's
just repulsively evil.

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herio
As a non-american, how this does not run afoul of discrimination laws boggles
my mind. Refusing employment on skin colour, religion, sexual orientation or
indeed pretty much anything would land you in trouble, doing the same on this
is seen as perfectly fine.

Back home in Sweden, records are automatically sealed after two years (if my
memory serves me correctly).

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Bostonian
It's very different to discriminate against someone for something they did
than on the basis of race, sex, etc.

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washadjeffmad
You might think you're making a distinction within your comparison, but you're
not.

Blanket no-hire policies for felons are discriminatory because minorities are
disproportionally and more harshly sentenced in the US. While you might feel
justified in discriminating against a person with a felony record, you have a
non-trivial probability of judging them on the racist workings of a corrupt
and broken system that preys on vulnerable populations.

Fewer than 1% of cases in the US go to trial. Instead, people are forced to
plead to charges instead of letting the evidence speak for itself. An innocent
person who doesn't think they can afford to fight a felony charge in court
might choose to take a prosecutor's plea deal to go to prison for a month
instead of the mandatory minimum of 5 years. It's utterly barbaric.

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mmmBacon
Pennsylvania started this trend. They seal records for minor offenses if you
stay out of trouble for 10 years. It’s certainly a step in the right
direction.

[https://www.inquirer.com/news/clean-slate-criminal-record-
se...](https://www.inquirer.com/news/clean-slate-criminal-record-sealing-
expungement-pennsylvania-philadelphia-20190628.html)

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remotecool
How about we disallow political discrimination as well. The left is so against
discrimination when it comes to crime, yet will find every reason to not
support or hire people that are against their political beliefs.

Conservatives/republicans/trump supporters face overwhelming discrimination in
silicon valley.

It's why I know all of these movements are complete bullshit and just a way to
get voting power and push out anyone you dislike.

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Bostonian
If two applicants were the same except that candidate A committed a minor
crime 20 years ago, it is rational for me to prefer candidate B. If A is
better than B in some other way, for example having more relevant experience,
I may decide that the extra experience outweighs the long-ago crime. But why
do politicians assume I cannot make rational decisions and that they must
decide for me what criteria for applicants are important? At the margin,
removing a penalty for crime will result in more crime.

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m-p-3
To play Devil's advocate, applicant B might just be better than A at not
getting caught.

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vastoi
This is what I want out of my employees

/s

