Reader Co0mments

Mike Wilburt, Chairman, Warren County Republican Party wrote on Jun 25, 2008 11:59 AM:

" It's interesting that Doug Berger claims these are crimes of youthful indiscretion. That's a bit disingenuous. He sponsored senate bill 1081 which would allow many felonies to be erased with no limit on the age of the offender.

Doug Berger's legislation (S-677) is still alive in a version in the NC House (H-898). If it passes, convicted felons could truthfully tell a potential employer that their criminal record was clean.

Employers would unknowingly be putting their businesses, their other employees and their customers at unnecessary risk.

Business employers, and private citizens who may hire someone to work in their homes, should have the right to make an informed decision about the people they hire. With all the facts in front of them, they can make the decision to pass on an applicant because of their criminal record, or they may choose to give the applicant a chance.

In NC as in many states, misdemeanor records are eligible to be considered for expungement (erased). Doug Berger's legislation requires the convicted felon to cross a variety of hurdles before their felonies would be considered for expunction. But Felonies are felonies because of the seriousness of the crimes. Felony crimes should not be eligible for expunction from criminal records.

This proposed legislation is a lazy way to make a change. The hard work would be to carefully evaluate the crimes that are considered felonies. If some are so minor that they should be reclassified as misdemeanors, then reclassify them. Don't just take a wide swath across hundreds of Class H & I felonies and consider them "minor" or non-violent. Just because blood wasn't shed doesn't mean the victims were not harmed, perhaps irreparably.

The Warren County Republican Party is strongly opposed to this legislation, and so is Dr. Bert L'Homme, Superintendent of Franklin County Schools, The NC Sheriff's Assoc., The NC Crime Victims Assoc., The Retail Merchants Assoc., the NC Hospital Assoc., and others. "