In an era where bring “smart on crime” overrides being “tough on crime,” (because being tough has been found to be too costly and does not provide the expected results), some states just don’t get it.
Wisconsin Senate Bill 207 would allow employers to deny employment to anyone one with a felony conviction. It doesn’t matter if the conviction happened 20 years ago, or if the conviction was for a crime that is not related to the job being sought. Nor does it matter that employment aids successful reentry, which reduces recidivism, which increases public safety and thereby reduces the burden that tax payers bear to keep someone behind bars.
Reentry Central joined other organizations committed to dismantling the barriers to successful reentry. The following letter was sent to Wisconsin State Senators outlining the reasons SB 207 is detrimental to all of the state’s citizens, and asking them to oppose it.
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