Ind. General Assembly takes a second look at ‘second chance’ law

State legislators are signaling their uneasiness with possible interpretations of a new Indiana law passed this spring, the Associated Press reported.

Dubbed the “second chance law,” the law allows people convicted of
nonviolent offences to have a judge seal their conviction from public view if they demonstrate that they’ve turned their life around.

Courts have expressed confusion about parts of the law, and legislators and policy groups are suggesting various ways to change it to make it more clear.

One proposal, discussed in the Criminal Law and Sentencing Policy Study Committee last week, would make the petition to seal the past offence confidential from the public, according to the AP.

Legislators balked at the idea, arguing that petitions should remain public until after the person’s criminal record is sealed.

Sen. Richard Bray, R-Martinsville, noted that under the new law people who had been convicted of nonviolent felonies would be able to become lawyers in Indiana because they wouldn’t have to reveal the sealed convictions.

David Powell, executive director of the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council, pointed out that convicted felons would also be able to work in schools because their records would not be revealed in criminal background checks.

Sen. Brent Steele, R-Bedford, chairman of the committee, agreed that petitions should remain public but said the committee was not trying to make significant changes to the law. He said the committee is trying to make it work.

— Zach Ammerman