By Gene Mills, President of Louisiana Family Forum
There is a movement in the Louisiana Legislature this session to bring principled, faith-based reform to this state’s criminal justice system. With gridlock and partisanship dominating the headlines at the state and federal level, criminal justice reform offers a unique moment to illustrate that bi-partisanship still exists. With justice reform, we focus on a common goal of restoring families and communities and bringing reliability to the rehabilitation process for those seeking restoration to society.
Louisiana has the highest incarceration rate in the nation, a statistic that we should resolve to repair. Today, approximately 2.2 million Louisiana residents have a criminal record. To make matters worse, for too long we have had a penal system in place whose object is to punish rather than rehabilitate (low-level offenders) offenders with the object of successful re-entry into society.
We should be working to promote a criminal justice system that anticipates and pursues the incredible transformation that occurs when an individual accepts responsibility for his or her actions before man and, by God’s grace, becomes a “new creation.”
Providentially, a bipartisan group of legislators is advocating during this session just such a package of bills that will help remove the barriers to employment for ex-offenders and build a rehabilitative criminal justice system. Several of the bills (HB 145 and HB 146 by Rep. Helena Moreno (D) make it easier and safer for Louisiana employers to participate in the Reentry Court system, which gives ex-offenders access to available jobs. The Reentry Court system, created in 2010 in Louisiana, has proven successful at helping nonviolent offenders (Reentry Courts exclude sex offenders, violent offenders, and multiple offenders) get a second chance at a productive and crime-free life.
Reentry Court services include substance abuse treatment, behavioral therapies, and education programs, along with strict postrelease supervision, volunteer mentors and requirements. Louisiana Family Forum supports this package of bills that will allow Louisiana to build on the success of the Reentry Court system that is already giving ex-offenders a chance at a fresh start.
Another bill (HB 266 by Rep. Denise Marcelle (D) making its way through the legislative process would help to ensure that a criminal record does not automatically preclude an individual from consideration for employment in state government.
The chief underlining foundation of Christianity is the principle of personal restoration. Every heart beats imprecisely and at times has failed at one or more of life’s tests. Those with a criminal history deserve no less than a fair shot at a future with hope. HB 266 embodies hope and rehabilitation by providing applicants for state employment the chance to explain a criminal record “no matter how small” when applying for a state job. HB 266 in no way prevents a state agency from conducting a background check, discussing said history during the interview process, or rejecting an applicant due to a criminal history.
Louisiana should be willing to give rehabilitated offenders a chance at a fresh start, just like several other states led by conservative legislatures, including Oklahoma, Georgia, and Tennessee.
Louisiana Family Forum supports this legislation because it delays inquiry into criminal history until an interview actually occurs – at the interview, the state agency must and should request full disclosure and hear an applicant’s explanation.
HB 266 in no way touches the practices of private companies.
I find most Louisianans believe in second chances and a turnaround is possible, especially people of faith, who know firsthand the incredible life changing power of a relationship with the son of God.
“Change happens” and with it the power to redirect the course of a life. If this reconciliation is possible, then why should we fear unlocking the future for non-violent offenders and offer them a shot at opportunity, re-entry into society, and gainful employment after making it right with God and the courts for their crime?
I urge the legislature to pass meaningful criminal justice reform this year so we can work towards a day when Louisiana is no longer the prison capital of the United States. With God’s grace, a whole life turnaround is possible. Let’s support a justice system that embraces and propagates this idea. It’s a Louisiana Value!
