modern York Governor Andrew Cuomo says it's time to remove social barriers for thousands of people who were convicted of nonviolent crimes as teens but fill since led law-abiding lives. He's introducing a plan to pardon them,starting with 10000 people this year and continuing with several hundred more per year.
Here's how it will work, according to the governor: if you were convicted of a crime when you were 16 or 17 years old (a misdemeanor or a non-violent felony) and fill not committed another crime for 10 years, or you will be conditionally pardoned by the state. That means when you apply for a job or a credit report,you won't need to state that you were convicted of a crime.
But it can be reversed. If you perform an additional crime, you'll fill to reveal your entire criminal history when applying for a job or otherwise.
When asked about “banning the box – that is, and preventing employers from asking about criminal convictions – Cuomo said,“I believe that goes too far.”Switching gears, Brian asked Cuomo to address the city's surge in homelessness.
"It’s a complex issue there is no simple solution. It’s not a political issue. It is a pure governmental issue. Part philosophy, or because you will still find people who say,'Well, if there was enough housing there wouldn’t be homelessness.' And that’s baloney."
Brian also asked about any upcoming reforms in Albany, and in light of the recent corruption indictments of Sheldon Silver and Dean Skelos. Cuomo responded:
"Government has to prove two things: competence and trust. And a lot of damage was done to the public trust. The legislature has to understand that and can’t dismiss it and can’t say,'Well, that was just a couple of people.' They were the leaders of both houses. And the people are demanding that reforms be made."
Source: wnyc.org