S.C. expungement opportunities expanded for those with convictions in their youth

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) – A new state law could help fill some of the 100,000-plus jobs currently unfilled across South Carolina while giving certain South Carolinians with criminal histories a second chance.

This change expands an established part of South Carolina law, the Youthful Offender Act, which applies to people who were convicted of certain nonviolent crimes when they were young.

“Let’s give them the carrot to change their lives,” Rep. Seth Rose, D – Richland, said. “Let’s say, ‘You can be whatever you want to be if you stay out of trouble,’ and we need to do more of that.”

Rose was the lead sponsor of a new, bipartisan law that carves out convictions for driving under suspension and disturbing schools from the offenses that could prevent someone from attaining expungement under the Youthful Offender Act.

That act allows people convicted of certain nonviolent misdemeanors and low-level felonies in South Carolina — shoplifting, for example — to apply for those offenses to be removed from their criminal records. (Offenses that are not eligible under the Youthful Offender Act include violent crimes, domestic violence, and convictions that require the person to be added to the state’s sex offender registry.)

That expungement is not automatic, and to be eligible, they had to be younger than 25 when convicted and cannot re-offend within five years of completing their sentence.

Rose stressed that the actual period during which they must stay clean is longer, as it includes any time behind bars or on probation.

“We have people that are staying out of trouble for seven, eight, nine, 10 years, and they are not able to avail themselves of the expungement because they had a driving under suspension ticket,” he said.

Those charges are often poverty-related, according to Allison Elder, the director of legal services for the South Carolina Office of Root & Rebound, an organization that provides direct legal services to people with criminal records or who have been incarcerated.

“Driving under suspension often occurs when someone’s license is suspended for failing to pay traffic fines or falling behind on child support,” Elder said.

This new law now allows people to be eligible for expungement even if they were convicted of disturbing schools or driving under suspension before that five-year, post-sentence period was up.

“Some young people are simply going through it, and they’re going to make more mistakes on their way out, but that doesn’t mean they don’t deserve a second chance and an opportunity to put their past behind them,” Elder said.

Gov. Henry McMaster vetoed this bill when it got to his desk, as he had with previous expungement-related legislation.

He said while he believes in grace and reducing recidivism through employment, he also believes employers should have access to someone’s complete criminal history when making hiring decisions.

“Accordingly, I continue to be willing to work with the General Assembly to pass laws to improve employment opportunities for individuals who have paid their debt to society without compromising the safety of our communities,” McMaster wrote in his May 22 veto message to the legislature.

But the General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to override his veto and put the new law into effect.

Rose said opportunities like the ones his legislation provides are necessary to enact the grace and recidivism reduction efforts the governor supports, as well as to fill jobs.

“We’re talking about a bill right now that helps with that, that assists people who made one-time mistakes to move forward for the better, and it encourages employers to hire them,” Rose said.

The new law applies retroactively to convictions before the change went into effect earlier this month.

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