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MO: Sealing criminal records a bad idea, press association says

By   /   July 13, 2012  /   4 Comments

Doug Crews

By Johnny Kampis | Missouri Watchdog

ST. LOUIS — The head of the Missouri Press Association says the state is entering a “slippery slope” after Gov. Jay Nixon signed into law House Bill 1647, which expunges certain felonies and misdemeanors from criminal records.

“One of the things we look at hardest is keeping records open to the public, and this bill closes some of those records,” MPA Director Doug Crews told Missouri Watchdog Friday.

The bill modifying provisions relating to public safety is large, addressing things such as hazardous waste hauler fees and off-highway vehicle use.

It allows people convicted of offenses such as writing bad checks, trespassing and illegal gambling to remove those crimes from their records — after 10 years for misdemeanors, 20 years for felonies. People petitioning the court where the crime was adjudicated must have paid any restitution and not have committed more crimes during that time.

Nixon signed the bill into law Tuesday amid a flurry of action before the Saturday deadline to act on legislation passed by the General Assembly.

The National Rifle Association championed the bill because it returns to people unable to buy a gun because of their criminal records the right to own a weapon.

Sen. Brad Lager, R-Savannah, told the Columbia Daily Tribune he added the provision during Senate debate of the bill to help

Brad Lager

a constituent with a bad-check conviction get a rifle so he can take his son hunting. Federal law prevents people with felony convictions from receiving a gun permit.

“My initial target was to restore gun rights to individuals who have proven over two decades of how they live their lives that they deserve to have their privileges returned,” he said.

Crews said the legislation infringes on the rights of others.

“I feel like potential employers are shortchanged when they can’t find out the background of potential employees,” he said.

Crews worries lawmakers may add more crimes to the potential expungement list in future sessions.

“The slippery slope is upon us,” he said.

Lager said he created a narrow list containing only nonviolent offenses.

“Some mistakes are so outrageous that they follow you forever,” he said. “Others, you should be able to move on.”

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Johnny Kampis

  • http://www.mikecarter.com mike Carter

    Lager has this right AND the fear of slippery slope is UNWARRANTED AND ILL ADVISED. United States HISTORICALLY values privacy and serving fair punishment for a crime — NOT DEBTORS PRISONS, QUARTERING SOLDIERS, RANDOM PERSONAL EFFECTS SEARCHES, AND SCARLET LETTERS

  • Riley England

    There are reasons to expunge a person record sometimes. For instance when my son was 21 and attending college in Missouri he began to abuse cocaine and to support his habit he would buy what is known as an eight ball and sell it. Was he wrong ? Yes sir he was and by the time the state filed charges my son had already changed his life and been living in another state for 2 years. When he found out that there were warrants he traveled 1400 miles and presented himself to the authorities. He was convicted of two counts of sales. Luckily he was only placed on supervised probation and has as well satisfied the probation without even receiving a traffic ticket. This was 15 years ago and I thank God that Gov. Nixon made it possible for my son to clear his name.

  • Pingback: Missouri’s New Law to Expunge Certain Criminal Records

  • Chris Shannon

    People make mistakes, and the price they pay is called a Sentence. Once they have paid the price for their mistake, completed their Sentence, they should no longer be subject to additional penalties – like employers who discriminate/won’t hire people based solely upon these mistakes (they did the Crime and paid the Time for their mistake). I think it should be illegal for employers to discriminate based upon a criminal history which has no bearing on a job’s responsibilities. For example: People with Felony DUIs and employers who will not hire them for Office Jobs as a result. As long as the person is qualified, not operating a company vehicle, and has no history of showing up for work under the influence, discriminating against these people (not hiring them) based solely upon this/these convictions should be illegal. There should also be some Real Penalties for Employers who discriminate strictly upon this basis. What do you think?