NACDL - Memorandum of Support for New York’s Clean Slate Act (February 2023)

Memorandum of Support for New York’s Clean Slate Act (February 2023)

New York’s Clean Slate Act will help address the systemic barriers to jobs, housing and education posed by old conviction records. Under the current system, people who have successfully served their time are subjected to perpetual punishment long after their sentence is served. Doors that were once open – to jobs, a place to live, an education – can remain closed for a lifetime, and this impact reverberates across children, families, and whole communities, disproportionately impacting Black and brown New Yorkers and deepening already-existing inequalities in civic life.