When President Donald Trump appointed Alice Marie Johnson as his pardon czar, he sent a clear message to the nation: Accountability and second chances are not mutually exclusive. Our Founders understood this principle, and as America celebrates its 250th birthday, Congress has an opportunity to put it into action.
Congress should advance legislation creating an earned pathway to federal expungement. The current system offers deserving individuals very few opportunities to move beyond their past mistakes, but by rewarding rehabilitation, we can create a more effective justice system and strengthen public safety.
Every crime has consequences, but the question is not whether offenders should be held accountable. The question is whether punishment for nonviolent offenses should last forever.
A pathway to expungement is about much more than clearing a record. It is an investment in safer communities. Criminal records create barriers to employment, housing and education. These are the biggest stabilizing forces for someone exiting prison. Without those opportunities, the likelihood of returning to crime increases, undermining communities in the long run.
Public safety does not end when an offender is sentenced, especially considering that 95% of incarcerated individuals will eventually return to their communities. It ultimately depends on whether people who have demonstrated that they no longer pose a threat to public safety are given the opportunity to become productive citizens.
Critics often suggest that expungement amounts to blanket forgiveness, but that argument ignores reality. Proper safeguards ensure that the process is rarely automatic. Instead, earned relief requires demonstrated rehabilitation, judicial review, waiting periods and the exclusion of certain serious offenses. A federal pathway to expungement recognizes two truths at once: justice requires consequences, and people are capable of a crime-free life.
Nor does such a framework push victims aside. Every crime leaves behind a victim who deserves justice, and accountability matters now more than ever. But after a sentence has been served and rehabilitation has been demonstrated, endless punishment does little to help those victims. Preventing future crime does. Our nation must recognize that justice should not be measured by how long we can continue to punish someone, but by whether our policies make communities safer. Developing a federal pathway to expungement is the natural next step in preventing future victimization.
Nearly every state has adopted some form of expungement or automated record sealing, but federal law has fallen behind. Led by Republicans and Democrats alike, states across the country have recognized that people can change and, when they do, they should have a meaningful opportunity to successfully reintegrate into society. Conservative states such as Texas, Oklahoma, Utah and Georgia have embraced mechanisms that provide earned relief. Their example sends a clear message to Congress: If leaders across the political spectrum have concluded that perpetual punishment does little to enhance public safety, Washington should follow suit.
As Americans gather to celebrate 250 years of freedom and excellence, we should remember that our history has been defined by accountability, hope and redemption. Those ideals have long challenged us to build a justice system that protects the public while recognizing the power of earned second chances. While Congress has spent years debating what happens inside prison walls, it is time to give equal attention to what happens after individuals have earned their way out.
Rachel Wright serves as National Policy Director for Right On Crime, bringing nearly a decade of experience in prosecution, appellate advocacy and criminal justice policy at the state and federal levels.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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