Send To Printer | Close Window Send To Printer | Close Window By Jodina Hicks, V.P. of The Safer Foundation
In the Book of Isaiah (42:6-7) God calls His people to set prisoners free. Throughout the Bible we are instructed to be just. Not only is God known by His justice (Ps 9:16), not only does He love justice (Ps 11:7), but He instructs His people to be just and to not treat the poor unjustly (Ex 23:6). The prophet Micah sums up God’s instructions as to what God requires of us: “To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with our God.”
(Micah 6:8).
It may be surprising that many of our heroes and sheroes of the Bible would be considered “ex-offenders” or “people with criminal histories” in today’s terms, and would therefore be excluded from most employment opportunities, be restricted from professional licensing, and be rejected from living in public housing. Moses and David, both murderers would have an extremely difficult time, as people with violent offenses are excluded from thousands of job opportunities. It is hard to imagine that the man who led Israelites out of Egypt couldn’t work in the arena of healthcare, education, parks, or law enforcement…..ever. The disciples, who were familiar with the inside of the prison system, as were more recent leaders such as Charles Colson and Martin Luther King, and under today’s standards would be excluded from what many of us take for granted as rights: the right to housing, employment, and in some states, voting.
Illinois currently has 118 (and counting) laws that limit employment opportunities for people with criminal records, and many of these laws limit employment opportunities for life, without consideration of individual circumstances. In addition to legislation, we find a myriad of insurance practices and private employer policies that add to legislation, resulting in the question often asked by people with criminal records, “Where can I work.” The laws that our elected officials created both on the state and federal levels in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s under a “tough of crime” platform, resulted in sentencing people to life sentences of being locked out of opportunities that are critically needed to be self-sustaining. What has resulted is the creation of what’s been called an underclass, with alternative economic engines that support those who have been locked out of mainstream lifestyles. This approach of punishing people for life by stripping away core components of citizenship has not yielded safer communities; instead it has created the opposite effect.
Research is beginning to catch up with the problem. Recent studies by Devah Pager indicate that in both the employment and housing markets, the criminal record is used to disqualify and exclude black men. In other words the criminal record is legitimately used as a proxy for racism. Results of her studies show that white men with criminal records are more likely to be called back to interviews (employment or housing) over black men without records, and black men with records have little chance of getting in the door of employers or landlords. Blanket policies of public and private employers that exclude all people with criminal records, without a look at the individual, are used to lock out the 650,000 people returning from prison each year. While we do not see signs that say “no ex-offenders allowed” in the window, this policy exists, particularly in large companies.
Current political debate discusses pathways for citizenship for immigrants. We need solutions for people with criminal records to attain citizenship, as well. Current policies do not take into consideration whether one’s criminal record is one day or 50 years old, nor do they take into consideration the age of the person at the time of the offense, the circumstances surrounding the offense, or the character and efforts of the person since the time of the offense. In the age of information and internet overload, the criminal record is easily attained and is a matter of public record…forever. A new scarlet letter “X” has been created that follows our men and women for life.
As an Illinois state senator, Barack Obama created legislation that would allow people with criminal records to have an individualized review of their rehabilitation efforts, potentially resulting in a Certificate of Good Conduct. His legislation was severely altered when it was passed in 2003. This year, the original form is being re-introduced in Illinois in order to strengthen current law. The result will be that people with criminal records will be reviewed as individuals under a clemency-review standard, and those who are successful can take the certification to employers and will be allowed to overcome legislatively imposed hiring bars, and be protected from negligent liability claims. Similar legislation is already law in New York and Connecticut, and underway to pass into law in Iowa.
“Ban the Box” legislation has been created by a group of people with records in California, and it is sweeping across the country. Cities such as Chicago and Minneapolis have adopted “Ban the Box” policies administratively or through ordinances, which will result in the question about criminal history will be removed from the applications. The review of the record against the job opportunity will occur at the time of a conditional hire. In so doing, the practice of eliminating applicants with criminal histories at the front end of the employment process is overcome. People are reviewed for their individual merits and given the chance to discuss their record as a part of that evaluation. People are notified if/when their record has raised an issue with the specific employment opportunity. States such as Florida have adopted Ban the Box at the state level through Executive Orders.
While neither of these solutions will “fix” all issues, they will help to undercut the blanket policies that do not consider people based upon the content of their capacity and character. These changes will start to undo the layers of old laws that do not make sense in applications, and they will provide an example by government that private employers can likewise adopt. For if we are to follow God’s commands and not only visit those in prison, but set the prisoners free, we should not condemn them free to a life of chains, but rather to the restoration of being fully human and fully embraced by society.
What can you do?
Reference
1. Pager, Devah, The Mark of a Criminal Record,
www.northwestern.edu/ipr/publications/papers/2003
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