Comment by 999900000999

Comment by 999900000999 4 days ago

18 replies

Your doing the Lord's work.

Even if you just paid him the state minimum wage, it would stop him from having a giant employment gap.

The next step would be background check reform. A DUI record isn't relevant to anything not involving driving.

Excluding a very small handful of SVU level crimes everything should be wiped clean after 5 years or so.

I had an experience with a co worker who would brag about robbing people, selling substances and when he got caught his family money made it go away. He's a CTO at a mid sized tech company now. Had he been poor he'd have a record and be lucky to work as a Walgreens clerk.

Was the biggest "tough on crime" person I've ever met. I think people with means don't understand if you don't have money you can't afford bail.

Can't afford bail you'll just be indefinitely detained without trial for months if not years.

Everything about the criminal justice system is about exploitation. Get house arrest, that's a daily monitoring fee. States like Florida are forcing released inmates to repay the state for the cost of incarceration.

It's past fixing tbh, I'm personally hopping to immigrate to a functional country soon.

derektank 4 days ago

>Excluding a very small handful of SVU level crimes everything should be wiped clean after 5 years or so.

It's nice to think that people should be able to fully pay back their debt to society but (a) criminal court proceedings need to be public in a free society and if they are public, people should be able to record and distribute the results as private citizens if we believe in upholding the principle of freedom of speech.

Even if it were possible to prevent this, (b) this does a small but not entirely negligible harm to people that never committed a crime by casting some doubt upon them. This is most apparent for minority groups that are associated with criminality; they experience worse employment prospects when the state makes criminal records unavailable.

  • miki123211 4 days ago

    Criminal records should be available, but in a controlled way.

    Where I live (Poland), only the person itself can request their criminal record from the state. This is a routine procedure required by some employers, you can even do it online these days.

    Most if not all criminal offenses "expire" after some years, how long depends on the offense. If there's something you've been charged with but not convicted of, it doesn't appear on the record.

    This is easier to implement for us because there are limitations on how media can report on criminals (no last names for example). Even in the US, I think that system could be workable. Instead of attacking distributions of "unedited" criminal records, you'd have to target employers and require them to only acquire the state-approved versions.

glommer 4 days ago

The Lord is doing His work, in Preston's heart. I am very humbled to given a chance to be a part of this.

  • Bowski23 4 days ago

    Indeed HE is! Many prayers are being answered! Thank you!

  • focusedone 4 days ago

    Reformed?

    • glommer 4 days ago

      If you are asking me about my religion, I am a Catholic convert, after 20+ years of obnoxious militant atheism.

crote 4 days ago

> The next step would be background check reform. A DUI record isn't relevant to anything not involving driving.

This is already the case in some countries, including The Netherlands. A background check is done for a specific "profile", and convictions which aren't relevant for your job-to-be don't show up. Someone with a DUI can't become a taxi driver, but they should have no trouble getting a job as a lawyer. Got convicted of running a crypto pump&dump? Probably can't get a job as a banker, but highschool teacher or taxi driver is totally fine.

keybored 4 days ago

> Your doing the Lord's work.

Excellent marketing. They get a remote worker who is (in HN headhunter speak) a great and passionate talent. Of course they have no risks on their side. And they get praised for it on the very grassroots YC Combinator forum.

ChrisMarshallNY 4 days ago

> Excluding a very small handful of SVU level crimes everything should be wiped clean after 5 years or so.

My understanding, is that's what the UK does, with an exemption for certain jobs, like teachers and creche hosts. In the US, I think some states have the ability to expunge convictions. Not sure about federal crimes, though.

The "scarlet letter" of a past conviction is a very real issue, and keeps some folks down. People can get past it, though. I know folks that served time for murder, that have very good careers, and people that have misdemeanor records, that have always struggled.

  • justin66 4 days ago

    Different states have rules about expungement, as far as what happens automatically, what can be done if an offender convinces a judge, and how much it all costs.

    Federal crimes (and I don't think that applies in this person's case since they're in a Maine DOC prison, although drug crimes of this kind easily could be charged by the feds) aren't usually expunged. Even if you receive a pardon, the original crime (and a note of the pardon) will exist on the record.

    It's a really strange system. You're meant to lie and say "no" during interviews after your conviction is expunged if you are asked "have you ever been convicted of a crime," although I believe in many states it's now illegal to ask such a question.

  • wil421 4 days ago

    My state will automatically expunge non violent misdemeanors after 2010, so if it happened before you have to jump through hoops.

    I know people who dropped out of college because they had a very small drug charge, no use in finishing if you will have a scarlet letter over your head forever.

    • aerostable_slug 4 days ago

      That's really unfortunate. I work with people who were formally justice-involved every day and their educations have been an aid to them personally and professionally. A felony or a "bad" misdemeanor (e.g. domestic violence) isn't the end of the world, even in the modern US. People can and do overcome the consequences of their mistakes and thrive.

dao- 4 days ago

> Was the biggest "tough on crime" person I've ever met. I think people with means don't understand if you don't have money you can't afford bail.

Or maybe they do understand. This kind of politics ensures the privileged stay privileged.