Grant Callen and Kayla Hulett Testify on Expungement and Rights Restoration

"Thank you, Mr. Chairman, members of the committee. My name is Grant Callen, Founder and CEO of Empower Mississippi, and it is an honor and a pleasure to be with you today to talk about this important issue. Thank you for your leadership on this issue.

Many of you know of our support for education reform, but since 2018, our organization has been focused on identifying and removing barriers to opportunity even beyond the classroom. And one area where we commonly see barriers to opportunity is within our state’s criminal justice system.

One thing I’ve noticed is that in Mississippi, we often give up on people far too quickly. When an individual fails, we frequently make the path to becoming a rehabilitated, productive citizen extraordinarily difficult and, at times, nearly impossible. Within our criminal justice system, specifically, punishments for crimes tend to continue long after one’s prison sentence ends.

A felony conviction, for example, is something that one often lives with for the rest of their life and can make finding work, housing, and other important necessities extremely challenging, if not outright impossible. Virtually every job application, lease agreement, or loan application requires disclosure of felony convictions. Nonviolent felony shoplifters, for instance, are forever categorized as a blight on society alongside far more serious offenders like rapists and murderers.

This issue doesn’t impact just a handful of Mississippians. According to a recent report from FWD.us, it is estimated that 240,000, or 1 out of every 10 adults in Mississippi, have a felony conviction. The impacts of this on individuals, families, communities, and even our state’s workforce can be devastating. 

We all want safer communities, but what policies actually make us safer? Deterring would-be criminals ought to be a top priority for policymakers and law enforcement, yet “deterrence” is one of the most misunderstood concepts in all of public policy.

Conventional wisdom says if we want to deter people from committing crimes we should have long, harsh sentences, prisons should be miserable places, and maybe we should continue the punishments after prison as a cautionary tale to anyone who might be tempted to commit a crime. It seems like common sense, and I believed this for much of my life. However, this approach is divorced from reality and what empirical research has demonstrated time and time again.

Here's the principle: If less crime is the goal, then what matters most for deterrence is the certainty of apprehension, not the severity of the sentence. If criminals know they are going to get caught, that is a far greater deterrent than a long sentence and lifelong obstacles. Why? Because would-be criminals don’t read the state code to understand and consider the length of the sentence for each crime.

What’s remarkable is that criminologists on the left and the right overwhelmingly agree about this conclusion. Long, harsh sentences and lifelong obstacles don’t deter criminals, but when people think they are very likely to get caught, they are less likely to commit crimes.

To be clear, dangerous people need to be in prison, so we should prioritize law enforcement officers on the street and arrest/convict people as quickly as possible, but long harsh sentences for non-violent crimes doesn’t make us safer. And it costs a lot of money.

At Empower, one of our highest priorities is public safety, and we believe that actions should have consequences. Punishment for crimes should be swift and certain. Otherwise, we risk devolving into lawlessness. If you want to see lawlessness, go watch the videos on Youtube from San Francisco or Portland last year when they decided not to prosecute shoplifting. That’s the opposite direction Mississippi should go.

However, we also believe in the power of restoration and redemption. And we believe the punishment should fit the crime. To that end, not every crime deserves a life sentence. But that’s what we impose when we take away voting rights – which also takes away the right to run for office at any level – or Second Amendment rights, including self-defense, or when we don’t allow a record to be expunged after a period of time, which hinders employment, housing, and a whole range of other parts of normal life, all for an action that could have occurred years or even decades ago. 

In our opinion, lifelong punishment for non-violent crimes through the imposition of these barriers is not in the best interest of anyone.

Further, these barriers may actually jeopardize public safety. Studies show that restoring voting rights for those with felony convictions can improve public safety. According to The Sentencing Project, “The re-entry process after incarceration improves because restoring voting rights gives citizens the sense that their voice can be heard in the political process, and contributes to building an individual’s positive identity as a community member.” And we know that the two most important predictors of recidivism, not having a job or a place to live, are made more challenging when a person carries a felony conviction with them for the remainder of their lives.

Finally, our state’s workforce is diminished when we make it more challenging for those with felony convictions to get a job. With the highest incarceration rate in the country, and with so many fellow Mississippians who have felony convictions, it’s not hard to see that these barriers are one of the top reasons Mississippi has fewer people working as a percentage of our population than any other state in America. 

The report I referenced earlier from FWD.us notes that those with felony convictions face incredible challenges in re-entering the workforce. In fact, a criminal record can reduce the likelihood of a callback or job offer by nearly 50%, and formerly incarcerated people experience an unemployment rate of 27%, which is significantly higher than the overall population (for comparison, the U.S. unemployment rate is 4.1%, and Mississippi’s unemployment rate is 2.7%). It’s no wonder that report suggests this very issue could be a contributing factor to our state’s labor force participation woes, as these barriers discourage people from actively looking for work.

Fortunately, we have a solution within our grasp, specifically through a fair expungement process, if we just have the courage to seize it.

Today, you’ve heard from individuals who have been impacted by this issue. You’ve heard firsthand how imposing 2^nd Amendment and voting bans and making people live the rest of their lives with a felony conviction makes full reintegration into society after incarceration a virtual impossibility. You’ve heard very real stories about how this issue is impacting the lives of individuals who just want a second chance. The work you are doing today is an important step towards breaking down the barriers they face by promoting opportunity and redemption in a way that is fair, safe, and necessary.

Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, let me close with this: what you are considering today is not a choice between public safety and lawlessness, it’s not a choice between tough on crime and soft on crime. The reforms being discussed today represent a choice between the status quo—which has contributed to the lowest labor force participation rate and highest poverty rate in the nation, and has not made us safer—and an evidence-based approach that will truly change lives and communities for the better.

We are not for defunding the police, putting hardened criminals back on the street, or blindly abolishing prisons. Rather, what we are encouraging you to consider today is a pathway for offenders who have paid their debt to society to rebuild their lives. We’re talking about ways to remove barriers for those who want to be productive members of society so that they can be successful in that goal. We’re encouraging you to continue exploring ways to make it more likely that those who have made mistakes in the past do not fall back into the patterns of behavior that led them to commit crimes in the first place. 

I believe that is a laudable and achievable goal that will improve public safety, save taxpayers’ money, and positively impact individuals, families, communities, and our state’s workforce. And I believe the members of this committee should be commended for it. Thank you, Mr. Chairman."