Many individuals in Pennsylvania who have encounters with the justice system early in their lives continue to pay the price long after they have completed their sentences. Because of their background, they can struggle to obtain higher-level employment on which they can sustain themselves. Excluding minor offenses, current Pennsylvania law only allows for expungement at a minimum age of 70-years-old, and only if 10 years have passed since the completion of their sentence without further encounters with the justice system.
 
Giving individuals with criminal records, who have served their sentences and remained free of further arrest or prosecution for a period of 10 years, the opportunity to improve their stability and financial situation through higher-level employment opportunities is only fair. They should not be continually punished into old age. That is why I will be introducing legislation to lower the age of expungement for reformed individuals from 70-years-old to 65-years-old.
 
We should always strive to build a more just society, where people are given the opportunity to learn from their mistakes and reintegrate as productive members of their communities. Under the current system, for many Pennsylvanians, their sentences never end.
 
I hope you will join us in co-sponsoring this legislation, so that we may give justice-impacted individuals the ability to live productive and fulfilling lives in their twilight years.