Most of us have heard the phrase “paid your debt to society.” It wasn’t just a catchy line — it once meant something real. When prisons were first called penitentiaries, the idea was rooted in penitence — serving your time, reflecting, and then rejoining society with a clean slate.
Back then, once you finished your sentence, you were done. Your debt was settled. You went home, got back to work, and reintegrated into your community. You weren’t branded forever by the worst moment of your life.
But somewhere along the way, America abandoned that promise.
Freedom That Isn’t Free
Today, when you walk out of prison, you never really walk free. Your record — whether it’s a misdemeanor or a felony — lives forever in FBI databases and courthouse files. Employers, landlords, schools, and even volunteer groups can pull it up instantly.
In practice, everyone with a conviction is already on a registry. Not just people on the sex offender list — everyone.
This is why our so-called “corrections” system doesn’t actually correct much. Because how can anyone be rehabilitated if their past is nailed to them for life?
A Fresh Start That Makes Sense
There’s a better way. Every state should adopt universal expungement:
Misdemeanors: cleared after 10 years.
Felonies: cleared after 30 years.
That’s it. No expensive lawyers. No endless..
Even if you get your charge reduced, charge removed, or get your case dismissed (can legally say you have not been convicted), you cannot remove the event of your crime off the internet. Guess you can pay to have your name changed.
Not just the states, but the feds too need the system recommended at 10 and 30 years even though if the data on a PFR says at 17 they are equal with John or Jane Q Citizen in not being a danger or a harm, the extra 13 years are not needed.
This piece is all well can good and could do some really good for society, but the cash cow as many here have said the corrections system (or truly a legal system only since it is neither justice, corrections, or rehab) is, there’s no way anyone with any political clout would risk their careers with political suicide promoting this doc and its recommendations.
We’re not the land of the free because of the brave, but the land of the oppressed because of the bullies where second chances only are extended to those with infractions so minor, they don’t count in the game of life. You don’t own your land, the gov’t does with the taxes, etc you have to pay. You don’t own your life, the gov’t does with the taxes you pay to just live. You don’t own yourself, the courts do with the rulings they put down and opine about because they say so in their God complexes.
As others have said here in the forum, we, as a people, are enslaved to others. PFRs just happen to be more enslaved than others who are not.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of vindictive people who wantt an arm for an eye and a nose for a tooth and those people really grieve me at heart.
The internet has become a perpetual ‘hall of shame’ as well as a ‘cash cow’ for background check platforms.
There is nothing private anymore in america;once your name is in the database you are there as long as this present world stands and there is no way to completely unchain yourself from it because people, platforms, businesses, and the government all want your data and the biggest problem is that most people don’t care; they say ‘I don’t care who is mining my data or who is listening beause I have nothing to hide.’
However, with that kind of mindset, they might just as well say ‘I don’t care about free speech because I have noting to say’ or ‘I don’t care about the right to bear arms because I don’t own a gun’.
Because of the internet, and data mining business practices, no one will ever be truly free in america anymore.
I believe most records should be sealed after a certain amount of time has passed. The only way records should be unsealed if someone has a lengthy criminal record or keeps re-committing the same crime. Our whole criminal justice needs a good overhaul and takes profits out of prisons, profits out of probation/parole and gets rid of the registry. End the tough on crime and be smart on crime for a change.
And to make things worse, we have for profit prisons.
I was 17 when I caught my 290 charge, I fought it for a year before taking the plea deal for 3years probation and I had to register. Looking back I remember all the older people in the court gasping after the judge said I had to register for life. I was so young I didn’t realize I was given a life sentence, the reality started kicking in about a year after my probation ended. I started realizing that I was still on probation but even worse lifetime probation and lifetime supervision.
I pretty much couldn’t do anything without notifying law-enforcement of my movements.
Now days life on the registry isn’t as hard as it was back in the early 2000’s a lot people on here are lucky they have a release date an off ramp after 10-20 years no lifetime GPS no living restrictions no Halloween signs, times have changed a lot out here.
Civil remedy or not, it is against the law to force people to provide public safety services “duties” without pay!
It is against the law to threaten people with arrest and imprisonment if they don’t provide public safety services without just compensation. Unless it is a sentence for a crime, a debt owed to society.
It is against the law to “charge” any person who “fails” to provide public safety services, who has never received just compensation for said services!
These outlaws committed fraud upon the Supreme Court of the United States with their misquotes and deceptive stats to gain the court’s blessing in creating the largest government-run human-trafficking scheme on the planet!
The registry is an act of the legislature, and like ALL government-created agencies, it employs agents to function. PFR = an agent of the state!
ALL these agents MUST BE PAID for their assigned “duties” within the agency.
The “duties” of registrants are by far the most dangerous role in the agency.
Registrants are forced to sacrifice their liberty and safety, putting not only their own lives but the lives of their families on the line to comply with the “duties” required of them!
Clearly, the registrant’s position in this agency is by far the most important because, without the PFR there would be no one else within the agency receiving paychecks!
Therefore, until the government compensates the PFR for its most important role in this scheme, it is clearly exploiting them to generate revenue that it is paying to other government agents.
PFR must be paid for every single second they have been on the clock as a registrant serving their country! 24×7 x??? (years)
After all, the registry is not punishment for the offense and Time is Money!
All those failure-to-register charges where services were never paid for in the first place must be duly compensated!
AND… THERE MUST BE EMERGENCY RELIEF granted because of the continued threat of loss of life for all PFR and family!
The government has no excuse to do this to anyone and has committed fraud upon the court AND the public by pretending this is necessary for public safety, while in reality the government is using this scheme to cause chaos, incite crimes, steal from, and kill members of the public!
Frankly, 30 years to expunge a felony is way, way too long. No one would be incentivized to live a law abiding life (other than those who already had it in them to do so) if the wait to be restored took the rest of their lives.
We fail ourselves when we keep the same failed justice system rolling along. By that, I mean the existing structure where we build permanent rap sheets on people and then use those to justify the inevitable banishment to prison. Anyone who has sat on a jury or who works in the justice system knows that this is the most likely final outcome for most individuals once they have a prison record.
Nobody wants to be treated that way.
In the real world, if you have a driving infraction, you may get points and pay more for insurance, but after a period of time, it all will go away if you stay infraction-free.
If you work on a job and are late or call out, you may get points, but if you work on being consistent in your attendance, your points reset after a reasonable amount of time.
I suggest that if we incentivize being a law-abiding member, more people will become law-abiding. At most, we should set the expungement bar at 10 years OF CRIMINAL FREE LIVING. Anyone who can live free 10 years without going back to crime, they will probably continue to do so.
While this means good, the extra time I think is overboard even if its better than nothing. I was convicted at 23 years old, any today, I’m 49. The past 18 years Ive registered without issue, and did not have probation or parole. I’ve even obtained degrees, always worked, and raised a family (still raising last two) Even the Lieutenant I go to when I register thinks I should be let off, but its hell to do so here. Im have to pay least 6k at a minimum. I will pay 3k to have a mental evaluation completed then I have to pay a lawyer to attempt to get off. Even after spending the money, the judge can still say no, I don’t think you’re ready. How cant that even be argued if I haven’t been in any trouble since my offense? It should not be this hard.
17yrs crime free statistically speaking shows a person is no longer a criminal threat. Anytime after that cannot be justified.