(Originally published in American Thinker.)
New York is inviting criminals to move to the state. Not literally, but its actions once again are showing that it won’t hold criminals accountable. It began with liberal politicians decriminalizing certain crimes and forcing police to prioritize the calls they answer because of shortages of police officers.
However, some criminals do get arrested. If that happened, liberal district attorneys drop charges, or liberal judges dismiss cases.
If criminals are unlucky enough to be convicted for their crimes, well, New York now wants to make sure no one can find out about a person’s criminal record. The state Legislature passed a bill that automatically seals most criminal records, and Democrat governor Kathy Hochul is expected to sign it into law.
The “Clean Slate Act” seals the records of criminals convicted of a misdemeanor three years after they are released from prison. It also seals the records of felons eight years after they are released from prison.
“Clean Slate offers a genuine second chance to individuals who have fully paid their debt to society, enabling them to restart their lives and become positive contributors to their communities,” said Democrat Senate majority leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins. “By passing Clean Slate, we affirm our belief in redemption and improve our society by providing formerly incarcerated individuals a better opportunity to enter the workforce and establish stable lives.”
While this is a laudable goal, it places the citizens of the state in a vulnerable position. What happens if a convicted bank robber or embezzler gets a job in finance? What if a convicted sex offender gets a job that brings him into contact with potential victims? Ordinarily, employers could have discovered this prior to a problem arising, but the state is now going to hide essential information. They will have become accessories to crimes that arise because they hid information.
Now, the bill allows some exceptions, such as Class A felonies that could warrant life in prison sentences, like terrorism, murder, kidnapping and some sex crimes. How long do you think those exceptions will last before liberal legislators start pushing to include the exceptions into the bill? Liberals have shown they don’t know the difference between right and wrong, or they do and have switched the definitions of the words.
“This law is completely irresponsible,” said state Republican rep. Mike Tannousis. “When are we finally going to hold criminals accountable for their actions? I have been here for three years, and have yet to see the day. Let’s hope it comes soon before the rest of the New Yorkers that still live in this state flee.”
This is also an effort by liberals to cater to their voters, especially since major crimes increased 22 percent in New York City last year. By encouraging criminals to stay in the city and state, they are likely to vote for Democrats and keep them in power.
It doesn’t matter that the Democrats are allowing their state to go down the toilet like liberal cities like Chicago and San Francisco. They are following the example of Lucifer in John Milton’s Paradise Lost that it is “better to reign in Hell, than to serve in Heaven.”
Michael A. Letts is the CEO and founder of In-VestUSA, a national grassroots non-profit organization helping hundreds of communities provide thousands of bulletproof vests for their police forces through educational, public relations, sponsorship, and fundraising programs.
