The Minnesota Second Chance Coalition is holding the Second Chance Day on the Hill, annual rally on March 15th, at 10:00 am, at Christ Lutheran Church on Capitol Hill. Join Leaders from the Justice 4 All Program as we rally with our allies and show state lawmakers how important justice reform is to Minnesota. The following statement is from the Co-Chair of the Second Chance Coalition, Josh Esmay.
My name is Josh Esmay; I am the Director of Public Policy and Advocacy at the Council on Crime and Justice, and co-chair of the Second Chance Coalition.
The issue at the heart of the Coalition’s mission- the collateral consequences of criminal records- is one of the most important problems facing our society. In the last 30 years we’ve seen a massive increase in the scope of our criminal justice system. As a result, in Minnesota alone, today an estimated 1 in 4 people have a criminal record. And now, changes in technology have made people’s records incredibly easy to access, causing stigma to permeate nearly every aspect of one’s life, from employment, to housing, to civil engagement and personal relationships. As an attorney, practicing both in the public defender system and at Council on Crime and Justice, I’ve had the privilege of working with many good people whose lives have been devastated by their involvement in the criminal justice system. Some of those that I have worked with have gotten a second chance, but many others are still in need of their shot at redemption.
The Minnesota Second Chance Coalition is a partnership of over 50 organizations to push for policy reforms that allow people who have committed crimes to redeem themselves, fully support themselves and their families, and contribute to their communities with their full potential.
This year we are focused on the state’s prison overcrowding problem. Currently, our prison system is overcapacity by 560 people and that number is only growing. Some lawmakers want to build more prison space and continue to warehouse people. We seek to solve the problem by reducing the prison population through sentencing reform, and proper funding for treatment programs and other interventions which have been shown to reduce recidivism.
We are also advocating to Restore the Vote to more than 47,000 Minnesotans who are currently ineligible because they are serving a felony sentence on probation or supervised release. Approximately 63,000 Minnesotans are currently denied voting rights under Minnesota law due to a past felony conviction. The vast majority of those individuals (approximately 47,000) are living in the community while serving their sentence on either probation or supervised release. This disenfranchisement overwhelmingly and disproportionately affects communities of color – African-Americans make up roughly 5% of Minnesota’s population but represent over 25% of the total number of those disenfranchised because of a felony conviction. Statewide, approximately 8% of African-Americans, and almost 13% of African-American males are unable to vote because of a felony conviction. To make matters worse, the problem is growing. Since 1974, the percentage of voting age Minnesotans who are disenfranchised as a result of a criminal conviction has increased over 400%. It is far past time that lawmakers remedy this situation by passing legislation returning voting rights to our silenced community members.
If these issues are as important to you as they are to us, please join us for Second Chance Day on the Hill and help us rally for reform.
Second Chance Day on the Hill. Tuesday March 15th from 10am – Noon at Christ Lutheran Church on Capitol Hill. RSVP with TakeAction Minnesota at this link: https://www3.thedatabank.com/dpg/256/mtglistproc.asp?formid=meeting&caleventid=26276
