FRANKLIN COUNTY REPUBLICAN
PARTY
101 WEST NASH STREET
P.O. BOX 909
LOUISBURG, NORTH CAROLINA 27549
(919) 496-1469
www.FranklinNCGOP.com
October 13, 2007
Doug Berger's Criminal Legislation
Allows:
Erasing Criminal Records of Taking Indecent Liberties with a
Student
Possessing a Firearm on School Property
and Soliciting Sex with a Minor via Computer also Erased
Warren County GOP Chairman Mike Wilburt spells it out on what Democratic state Sen. Doug Berger's bill of erasing criminals' records covers.
October
13, 2007
Ms. Kathy Harrelson
Editor,
The Franklin Times
PO Box 119
Louisburg, NC 27549
To the Editor,
The ability to expunge (erase) petty misdemeanors from one’s criminal record has
been allowed by law for many years. Our laws are generally compassionate and
allow for people convicted of minor crimes to get a second chance by clearing
their records with the oversight of a judge. Then, they may apply for a job or
loans, or whatever, and be able to honestly say, “My criminal record is clean”.
Impulsive petty crimes of “youthful indiscretion” should not haunt an individual
who has straightened out their lives and is pursuing a lawful path. A felony is
not an impulsive petty crime of “youthful indiscretion”.
A bill introduced by state senator Doug Berger, SB-677, would permit serious
felonies to be expunged from the criminal records of 16 and 17 year old
offenders.
This bill does not allow all felonies to be erased. Only those carrying the
felony classification of H & I are allowed to be erased. One of those felonies,
“the theft of pine straw” has been on the books for ages and is used by the
bill’s supporters as a laughable example of the type of harmless petty, minor
infraction that would be allowed to be expunged from the view of a potential
employer. While that statement is accurate, it is somewhat disingenuous.
Doug Berger and, evidently, the other legislators who support this bill, feel
little obligation to the public and the real victims of serious crimes. We
imagine most folks would quickly get over the theft of their pine straw. But we
believe it would take a bit longer to get beyond the anxiety, fear and the
horror they experienced when they were the victims of:
∑
Extortion.
∑
3rd degree sexual exploitation of a minor
∑
Soliciting sex with a minor via computer.
∑
Taking indecent liberties with a student.
∑
Employing or using minors for illegal drug activity.
∑
Distributing drug paraphernalia to minors.
∑
Domestic abuse, neglect, exploitation of disabled or elder adults.
∑
Possessing stolen property
∑
Using drugs or instruments to destroy an unborn child.
∑
Violating a protective order.
∑
Larceny of property worth more than $1,000.
∑
Breaking and entering.
∑
Writing bad checks worth more than $2,000 or credit/debit card thefts over $500.
∑
Forgery.
∑
Larceny of a firearm: receiving or possessing a stolen firearm.
∑
Possessing a firearm on school property.
∑
Manufacturing, distributing, selling or possessing schedule I or II controlled
substances.
o
Berger’s bill makes exception for methamphetamines, but what about heroin,
mescaline, LSD, opium, cocaine and scores and scores of prescription drugs.
∑
Intimidating witnesses, or harassing jurors.
∑
Embezzlement of money or property from a place of employment or a church, or a
charity.
∑
Smuggling contraband into a jail or assisting in an escape.
∑
Impersonating a law enforcement officer.
∑
Looting.
∑
Trafficking weapons to minors
∑
Cross burning
These felonies, and about 250 more serious crimes, are erasable in Doug Berger’s
bill. These felonies may have permanently scarred the victims and
impacted their families forever. But, Doug Berger and many of his colleagues
believe this is clearly better than scarring the poor, innocent choirboy felons
whom they believe society has failed.
While from a technically legal perspective the felonies listed above, and many
other felonies from the statutes, are defined as “non-violent crimes”. We submit
the victims of these criminals probably feel very differently.
For your reference, class H and I felonies are listed are listed here:
http://www.nccourts.org/Courts/CRS/Councils/spac/Documents/2003felonyoffenseclassificationlist.pdf
Further, we believe society needs to have the information it needs to make
informed decisions. Those decisions include hiring for positions of trust. Doug
Berger's bill now lowers the bar. Yes, SB-677 demands additional hurdles that
the applicant must clear. But SB-677 also allows applicants to have very serious
felonious crimes erased from their records. Surprisingly, respecting that Doug
Berger believes some serious drug offenses be exempted, he did not require the
applicants to submit to drug tests, over time, before having their felony
records erased from scrutiny.
Supporters claim that few criminals will even ask to have their felony records
erased. But according to the report issued by the NC Administrative Office of
the Courts (AOC) it is not a small number. The Administrative Office of the
Courts received about 7,000 expunction applications in 2006, of which they
processed about 6,600. AOC estimates they could see about 8,500 additional
applications the first two years once the felony restriction is lifted. While
the AOC admits the number will decrease once the backlog of eligible felons is
processed, it is a significant number of people, convicted of very serious
crimes, to be allowed to declare they have a clean criminal record and ask for
the trust of an unknowing, innocent community.
The AOC’s report can be found here:
http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/Sessions/2007/FiscalNotes/Senate/PDF/SFN0677v2n1.pdf
In September, our state senator, Doug Berger, asked the Franklin County
Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Bert L’Homme, to support this bill. Dr. L’Homme
said he could not. He repeated his objection to this bill last week at another
meeting in Franklin County. We congratulate Dr L’Homme on his principled stand.
Dr. L’Homme is taking his responsibilities as the head of Franklin’s school
system very seriously. We encourage the other school superintendents in Doug
Berger’s district to join Dr. L’Homme in opposing this bill.
Employers, both public and private, have a responsibility to their customers,
employees, students, clients, patients and suppliers to provide a safe and
secure business and working environment. Expunction of many felony records
prohibits responsible employers of one of the ways they can make an informed
hiring decision.
A criminal whose record has been expunged can honestly answer that his/her
record is clear of felonies. They are, therefore, with no felonies on their
record, eligible to be considered for employment in jobs that would previously
not be available to them for very good reason. This seemingly “honest” answer
provides a protection to criminals and removes a level of protection from the
community. That, we maintain, is wrong.
In our opinion, that, by itself, tells young people that shirking responsibility
for one’s actions is not only OK; it is sanctioned by those in authority.
An employer hiring for construction labor, yard work or some other job that does
not require the employee to handle company money or inventory, or have direct
contact with customers, customer files or customers’ homes and businesses, may
choose to give a young person a “second chance” depending on the offenses
committed. But this assumes, of course, the employer had the ability to review
that criminal record. SB-677 allows serious criminal convictions to be erased
from an applicant’s record and not available for review. SB-677 throws a
roadblock in front of employers trying to make a responsible hiring decision and
puts the public and the employer unnecessarily at risk.
We agree that adult punishment for all crimes committed by all 16
and 17 year olds is illogical. But we also believe that many 16 and 17 year olds
have proven, through their behavior, that they have earned adult punishment.
We believe there are class H & I felonies that should be redefined as
misdemeanors. We also believe there are misdemeanors that should be redefined as
felonies.
Further, we believe the entire expunction process should come under question,
and legislation allowing the mainstreaming of young criminal felons back into
our schools and communities with newly “clean” criminal records should be
stopped in its tracks.
Respectfully,
Mike Wilburt
Chairman, Warren County Republican Party
Vice-chairman, First Congressional District Republican Party
MWilburt@aol.com
www.WarrenNCGOP.com