Supporters expect new expungement law to boost labor pool across S.C. (crime, lawyer)

[WiseManOnceSaid]

The Legislature voted — by 108-1 in the House and 35-5 in the Senate — to override Gov. Henry McMaster’s veto of a bill to allow low-level felonies to be removed from the records of certain nonviolent offenders. The expungement bill had widespread support among the state’s business leaders and social reform leaders.

https://charlestonbusiness.com/news/law/75107/

Thought this is very relevant and interesting article.

[Carolina Knight]

I think this is positive. Offenders who has redeemed themselves and have made strides to contribute to the workforce should be allowed opportunities to seek employment and be positive members of the community.

[WhitewaterVol]

I am in favor of this as long as it is restricted to non-violent first offenses. I am also in favor of decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana. I don't smoke it but I'm tired of my tax dollars being used to incarcerate people for it.

[mckee16]

I agree, and I'm a law and order guy. If they get out of jail and can't get a job what exactly do we expect them to do?


There has to be some sort of redemption for these folks if they can walk a straight line.

[WiseManOnceSaid]

Originally Posted by mckee16

I agree, and I'm a law and order guy. If they get out of jail and can't get a job what exactly do we expect them to do?


There has to be some sort of redemption for these folks if they can walk a straight line.

Exactly, so in favor of this, and tired of tax dollars wasted locking people up for pot.

[WhitewaterVol]

I wonder why the governor decided to veto a bill with such wide bipartisan support.

[mattee01]

Originally Posted by WhitewaterVol

I wonder why the governor decided to veto a bill with such wide bipartisan support.

He’s an old, out of touch puppet who needs to GTFO

[Ziggy100]

I’ve never seen a governor get his veto overriden by his own party so many times. They need to get on the same page.

[TaterBritches]

Hopefully they get ALL their rights restored (including 2nd Amendment) with this expungement.

[WhitewaterVol]

I think I finally understand the argument against this new law. Basically, if employers want to give people a second chance, they are already free to do that without a new law. Completely expunging past offenses can potentially cause problems if the person ever commits another crime because it then looks like it is their first offense when it isn't.

It sounds like the law was mainly passed so employers can give a second chance without taking on the liability of hiring someone with a record. With the law, if they hire someone with a past record that was expunged and they turn out to be a bad risk, they can say they have no liability and didn't know because the person had a clean background check. If you gave someone a second chance that didn't have a clean background check and something happened with that person, a lawyer could sure on the basis that you should have known they were a risk based on their background check.

I still think I'm in favor of this type of law in general as long as it is limited to non-violent first offenses.