Last month, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore signed almost a hundred bills into law. Three of them give new hope to some people who have been caught up in the criminal justice system by giving them a better chance to put their past behind them.
Let’s take a brief look at these three new laws and what they do.
1. The Expungement Reform Act
This law adds a number of criminal offenses to the previous list of those that Marylanders could seek to have expunged, or removed, from their record. These include things like credit card theft and lying to police.
Gov. Moore noted that “for too many Marylanders, their criminal record … is tied around their necks for life. They cannot get a loan, they cannot get a home, they cannot get hired and oftentimes it’s because of an offense that they committed years, if not decades ago.”
2. The Second Look Act
This law lets courts take a “second look” at cases where a person who was convicted of a crime when they were between 18 and 25 received a long prison sentence if that person seeks to have their sentence reduced.
This can help some people who made a serious mistake in their young adult years avoid spending most of their lives in prison. However, they do need to have served at least 20 years of their term. Further, the law doesn’t apply to those serving a life sentence.
3. The Geriatric and Medical Parole Reform Act
This law requires the Maryland Parole Commission to consider a person’s age when determining whether to grant a medical parole, as well as whether letting them out of prison creates a public safety risk. As Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown said, this helps “individuals who are seriously ill or elderly have a chance to leave prison and live out their lives with dignity.”
These laws don’t begin to go into effect until later this year. In the meantime, it may be worthwhile to get legal guidance to determine whether you or a loved one qualifies and, if so, how to go about seeking release or expungement.