Ohio Governor Ted Strickland Announces Clemency (Pardon) Decisions

Most of the Honorable Ted Strickland, Governor of the state of Ohio's favorable clemency decisions are grants of pardon (2005-2006: 29; 2007: 39) associated with comparatively minor and/or non-violent offenses. In every case, these pardons have been granted to individuals who have completed their entire sentence, usually many years ago. Virtually every case involves an individual who has not re-offended with the exception of traffic violations.

The individuals granted pardons today have demonstrated that they have been rehabilitated and have assumed the responsibilities of citizenship.

Former Governor Bob Taft did not act on 63 clemency requests from 2005 and 2006. So Governor Strickland's staff has been overwhelmed with reviewing all requests.

Ohio Governor Ted Strickland and Illinois Governor Pat Quinn have granted an unprecedented number of pardons.

Illinois Governor grants a massive amount of pardons

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn granted pardons to 147 people convicted of low-level crimes in April 2010!  The Governor granted 147 of 407 requested.

People who have been convicted of murder, violent crimes, sex crimes are typically automatically disqualified by both Records Removal Services and the Board of Pardons (sometimes called the Board of Pardons and Parole).

Since Governor Quinn was sworn into office on January 29, 2009, he has decided on 769 Petitions, granting a total of 321 Petitions.

Plus, Governor Quinn has his own pile, making the total pending Petitions to be around 2450, according to a spokesman in the Governor's Communications Office. 

Governor Quinn is using his exclusive power to the benefit of the most deserving people, granting almost 42% of the Petitions thus far:

"Our society brands the felon with a Scarlet Letter for the rest of his or her lifetime. Essentially, once a felon, always a felon. This is wrong. This is not forgiveness. This is not mercy. Yes, people must understand that consequences come with illegal acts. But every person who was convicted of a crime, was sentenced and served a sentence, whether probation or prison. A lifetime punishment is harmful to society as a whole.

Rehabilitation must be encouraged in our society. The kid who gets caught selling dope at 18-years old should not be labeled a "convicted felon" for the rest of his life if he can prove he is a contributing member of society. If he has gone to school, purchased a home, raised a family, why should he continue to be punished?

A pardon gives the deserving person an opportunity to remove the "convicted felon" tattoo. The pardon allows for the deserving person to apply for a better job so that he or she can support his family. Rehabilitation must be rewarded."   - Tamara N. Holder, Illinois Attorney, Legal and Political Commentator 

Tamara N. Holder, Illinois defense and civil rights attorney/legal and political commentator contributed to his article from her commentator blog. 

Pardon power in the State of Illinois is vested in the Governor, who is assisted by recommendations of the Prisoner Review Board.  

With each U.S. state being sovereign however, each state has their own constitution and laws. In the State of Georgia for example, the Governor is prohibited from being involved in pardons and pardon power is vested exclusively in the Georgia Board of Pardons and Parole. 

Records Removal Services' new online Client Service Center receives an A+ ( 98.3%) approval rating

In a recent poll of Records Removal Services' clients, 98.3% of clients rated our new online Client Service Center with an A+ rating and stated they would recommend Records Removal Services to others for removing their criminal history!

ABOUT RECORDS REMOVAL SERVICES NEW CLIENT SERVICE SYSTEM:


SECURITY:  Your personal information is protected by 256-bit SSL security.

IMMEDIATE CASE INTEGRATION:   Once you have paid your bill in full (as well as completed and returned all forms) our new system will place your case in queue to be exported to the appropriate form and mailed to you!

BILLING:  You now have complete control over your bill! Not only does the system generate an invoice and email it to you, but you have complete control over when payments will be deducted from your account (for clients on payment plans), and you can update your billing information anytime! You can pay your bill (both clients mailing in payments, and clients who have declined transactions) instantly of having to take the time to call a representative.

ELIMINATION OF EMAILS:  Electronic communication is never secure, and there is always the possibility someone could read your private and sensitive information if you save your emails; our new secured Client Services Tickets eliminates all unsecured emails!

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signs new legislation broadening the state's expungement statute

The Honorable Chris Christie, Governor of the State of New Jersey recently signed new legislation broadening the state's expungement statute. Governor Christie signed the legislation into law after it passed both houses of the New Jersey Legislature; the General Assembly and the Senate earlier this year.

CHANGES TO NEW JERSEY EXPUNGEMENT LAWS:

• Citizens with convictions for third or fourth degree drug distribution convictions on their record may be expunged.

• The new legislation also reduces waiting periods for the expungement of indictable (felony) convictions. Under the old law, a citizen had to wait until 10 years had passed.  Under the new expungement statute, certain indictable convictions will be eligible for consideration after a period of 5 years.  There will be a series of factors that the court will consider when deciding if an early expungement should be granted. The important thing is the application can be filed, in most cases, 5 years earlier than before.

The changes to New Jersey's expungement laws include other provisions, but the ones listed above are the most beneficial for people who need an expungement.  For additional information, contact Records Removal Services today!  Don't let your criminal history haunt you for the rest of your life!

Records Removal Services unveils NEW state of the art Client Service Center!

Records Removal Services, a leader in criminal record expungement is pleased to unveil our NEW Client Service Center!

Our updated system provides seamless communication, trouble tickets, automated form creation, elimination of email, and countless other features!

Click here for additional information!

You asked, we listened!

Illinois State Police defying judges’ expungement orders?

Great article from a Sun-Times columnist Mary Mitchell about the former Illinois Governor's executive practices:

Every time you turn over a rock left by the Rod Blagojevich administration, something ugly crawls out.

The latest is a mess with the Illinois State Police.

An investigation by the Chicago Reporter, a monthly investigative publication on race and poverty, found that the state agency has refused to enforce about 1,800 of 21,000 expungement and sealing orders mandated by state judges.

You can find the full story by going to the Chicago Reporter's Web site at www.chicagoreporter.com.

Earlier this week, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan demanded the State Police immediately conduct an audit to determine the exact number of orders at issue, to comply with court orders and to devise a strategy to reach those people impacted by this issue.

"They are not following the law. I am curious about their reasons," Madigan said during an interview. "We've sent off a letter to the director trying to find out what is going on."

Four years ago, Illinois lawmakers who represent districts with large African-American and Latino populations were celebrating legislation that was designed to make it easier for ex-offenders to re-integrate into society.

It was a hard-fought victory.

But amending the state law was no easy task despite the obvious. If a person with a minor criminal record is prevented from landing even a low-paying job, aren't we just setting them up for a return trip to prison?

Madigan says she intends to meet with Governor Quinn on Friday about this issue.

Click here to read the entire article, or leave a comment below.

The Second Chance Act of 2007

Recently a law was enacted to help offenders make a transition from Federal Prison to the regular honest working world. This law has become known as the Second Chance Act. This law was eagerly awaited by inmates and their families. It was also the subject of many rumors and much misinformation. (story)

In essence, the new law does little and will provide benefits to only a few inmates. The most significant and widespread benefit from this law has been a change in the BOP's policy regarding half-way house time. Prior to this new law, the BOP permitted only a certain amount of half-way house time for inmates -- up to 6 months or 10% of the sentence, whichever was less. Thus, only those inmates serving 60 months or more were permitted 6 months half-way house time.

The exception to this rule was for those inmates who completed the RDAP program. They were permitted up to 6 months half-way house time regardless of the length of their sentence. Now, all inmates may be considered for up to 6 months half-way house time. This alteration in the BOP's policy affects only non-RDAP inmates who are serving less than 60 months.

With respect to the other aspects of the bill, specifically the pilot program to consider early release for elderly inmates and additional assistance beyond half-way house programs, the BOP must publish regulations, wait for comments on them and then proceed. As far as I know, they have not published relevant regulations. Consequently, because the rule-making process may take over 6 months, it may be some time before the limited benefits of the Second Chance Act are available.

The early release provision of the Second Chance Act applies to a very limited group. According to its terms, only offenders over age 65 who have served 10 years or 75% of their time and who did not commit a violent or sex crime can be released early. This applies, therefore, to approximately 650 of the 200,000 federal prisoners. The early release program is to begin on October 1 2008.

The Act also provides that the BOP may, but is not required to, allow up to 1 year of half-way house time. However, this provision of the Act has met with a great deal of skepticism. For example, at a Sentencing Commission symposium held in Washington on July 15, 2008, BOP Director Harley Lappin admitted that there would not be a substantial move to increase half-way house time beyond 6 months. Director Lappin relied upon research studies to support the conclusion that more than six months in a half-way house is not productive for most inmates.

The economics are also not encouraging for anyone hoping to spend more than 6 months at a half-way house. It is cheaper to house inmates in prison than in a half-way house. The average daily cost to house an inmate in a half-way house is $64. The average daily cost to house an inmate in a low-security prison is $48.

There was also a different bill with a similar name. The Second Chance for Ex-Offenders Act of 2007 was designed to amend the federal criminal code to permit expungement of records of certain nonviolent criminal offenses. Although this would be beneficial to anyone convicted of a federal crime, it has not been passed into law. Currently, unlike most state felons, federal felons cannot expunge their conviction. Still, expungement provides only the marginal benefit of making it more difficult for someone to find out the existence of a conviction. It does not make the conviction go away.

Pennsylvania House of Representatives passes expungement bill

Pennsylvania Rep. Tim Solobay, D-Washington, has sponsored a Pennsylvania House bill, that could speed up the expungement process in the commonwealth.

He said it could also take some of the load off the parole board.

Solobay said the bill would allow someone who committed a summary offense but has not committed any other crimes in a five-year period to petition the court to have his or her record expunged at the local level rather than having to go through the state.

The reason for the original bill, Solobay said, is that there is "such a backlog of folks waiting to get their records cleared."

He said it takes three to four years to have a record expunged and added many people need to have their records cleared for background checks.

"With many people, we're finding folks in their middle age with something that may have occurred in college and that's holding them back from promotions or from acquiring a job in the first place," he said. "Some people are actually losing jobs because they have to have a background check done and they can't hold a job with a record."

The bill passed almost unanimously, 198-1, Sept. 23 by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

Solobay said the House bill also included some misdemeanors.

He said the period would be seven years for someone who has committed a third-degree misdemeanor and 10 years for someone who has committed a second-degree misdemeanor, Solobay said.

Solobay said he hopes the Senate will pass the bill Wednesday.

It it passes on Wednesday, the House can sign it and "get it to the governor's desk" before session is over, he said.

Solobay said other than "thinning out" the number of people waiting to have their record expunged, the bill would also prevent major criminals from "slipping through the cracks" in the expungement process.

"It's only human nature that you may not put the same time and effort into something as you would if you had a small number," he said.

Solobay said one concern addressed in the House bill was that some things graded as misdemeanors in the past are now graded as summaries.

"There could be someone who had something as basic as a shoplifting charge that was a misdemeanor and is now just a summary offense," he said. "One person could get it expunged quickly through this process, and the other would have to go through the old process."

He said the misdemeanors that were included in the House bill are "non-violent."