Prisoners in California are frequently required to join firefighters on the front lines to battle the fires, due to a decades-old project.
Before, their time and attempt would not have to sum up to employability. Nevertheless, last Sunday, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law, that those inmates who fought the state’s wildfires they have an opportunity to become a professional firefighter after they get released. Criminal justice reform activists, highly praised this legislation, because it can help thousands of prisoners who find it difficult to get a job after they complete serving their sentence of imprisonment.
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California bill AB2147 allows certain inmates who are so far on the front battling wildfires to have their records obliterated after they have served their prison term.point 262 |
However, not all firefighters will be entitled to this program, those who have been convicted of certain crimes, such as murder, kidnapping, rape, arson, or any felony punishable by death or life imprisonment will be rejected.point 191 | point 191 | 1
When the former prisoner’s criminal record is erased, they will have the capability to apply for any of over 200 professions that require a state license. This is a chance what most people with criminal records lose out on, said a San Bernardino Democrat, Assemblywoman Eloise Reyes. She is the writer of this life-changing bill.
These prisoner firefighters are risking their lives to serve and protect the people in California. In the past years, there have been difficulties with having enough inmates to fulfill the inmate firefighter project. In state law, there’ve been changes to reduce the number of lower-level offenders in state prisons.
The lack of people was extremely high this year, in view of the fact that thousands of inmates were released as a consequence of the ongoing public health crisis. To slow the spread of the virus in jails the occupancy was brought down by at least 30 percent from last year.
Although, the attorneys association had disputed against the bill, stating that obliterated criminal records should be limited to only lower-level lawbreakers, many criminal justice reform advocates have praised the new law.