Eric M. Deadwiley

Civil Death in New York State: How New York State Utilizes Criminal Conviction Records to Impede the Economic Growth of Formerly Convicted People. Eric M. Deadwiley

Civil Death Policies are Federal and State laws that restrict or prevent formerly convicted people from enjoying many of the rights and privileges of the rest of society. It is estimated that there are over 16 Million formerly convicted people in the United States. This number grows by almost 1 Million every two years, with no end in sight due to our nations economic problems. Most employers check the criminal backgrounds of potential employees. With the advancement of information technology, the task of checking a persons criminal background has become much easier for anyone interested in the information. Many studies have found that most employers will not knowingly hire a person with a criminal record, thus, leaving society in a gripping dilemma. Since formerly convicted people live in all of our communities, should we allow employers to continue to unreasonably discriminate on this large group of our citizenry "forever", consequently, forcing them in a desperate situation in which they may be forced back into criminal behavior, or should their be a time limit on how long employers can request the information, thus, protecting the whole communities interest in the matter? There should be reasonable restrictions placed on how long employers can use criminal background information as a reasonable indicator of a persons character. This book will address these questions in depth, and will offer many reasonable suggestions on how to remedy this problem.