GETTING BACK ON TRACK AFTER AN ARREST OR CONVICTION

    After a person has successfully navigated their way through the criminal justice process, they may be disheartened to find that the journey is not over.  For many defendants who have disposed of their case by guilty plea (whether they were in fact guilty or just thought it was in their best interest to take probation and get it over with) there is an additional fight—the fight for a second chance.      

    This fight involves avoiding the collateral consequences that may result from an arrest or conviction.  These consequences make it hard for a person to get their life back on track. These consequences may involve limited opportunities for housing, employment, public assistance, and civic participation.  According to a publication by the Mercer University School of Law, 1 in every 13 adults are affected by these collateral consequences.     

    The United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta recently held a town hall meeting to raise awareness of and explore potential strategies to limit the affects of these barriers to a person getting their life back on track.  The meeting was moderated by United Way President Milton Little.  The participants on the panel were H. Lane Dennard, Jr. and Patrick C. DiCarlo authors of the book, Collateral Consequences of Arrests and Convictions, and Doug Ammar and Marissa McCall Dodson of the Georgia Justice Project.  Dennard points out that some collateral consequences, such as registration for sex offenders exist to protect the public, while others such as those that prevent people from getting into treatment programs, are not reasonable and do not further a public interest.       

    According to the Georgia Justice Project, a study by the Legal Action Center in Washington D.C. ranked Georgia as the third worst state in the nation for the number of barriers confronting individuals with a criminal record.   To combat this problem, the Georgia Justice Project launched its Coming Home initiative in January 2008.  Coming Home assists individuals who are confronted with structural barriers upon their release from prison or because of their criminal record.  The services offered by Coming Home include: assistance for those seeking to expunge their criminal records, writing letters to employers, representing persons in housing hearings, and testifying before legislative committees on the significance of these collateral consequences. 

    According to the panel, the core issue is recidivism.  Breaking down the barriers that confront people who are trying to get their lives back on track is one way to limit future crime.  Doug Ammar says, “We are talking about second chances versus second punishments.”  “If we keep punishing people who have otherwise paid their debt to society, we are asking for more crime,” says Ammar.  He believes that if we give hope and possibility to those who were hopeless enough to commit a crime, we can reduce the recidivism rate.                                                                    

    Dodson cites Department of Correction studies that indicate that if we can reduce the recidivism rate by 1% it will save the citizens of Georgia seven million dollars a year.  According to Dodson, a significant number of those who re-offend do so while unemployed.           DiCarlo set forth some possible solutions such as certificates of good conduct  awarded in some states to individuals who over time have demonstrated their rehabilitation and thus can have access to their criminal record limited.  DiCarlo adds that the laws related to expunction can be expanded to include successful completion of pretrial diversion programs and acquittals.  Also, employers can be afforded some protection from lawsuits if they take a chance and hire someone with a criminal background who has shown to be rehabilitated.      According to Dodson, everyone can contribute to positive change by not perpetuating the stigma associated with a criminal record and giving those individuals a true second chance. 

The Georgia Justice Project is located at  438 Edgewood Avenue, Atlanta, Georgia 30312.