Contact:
Krysta West
Communications Director
Senate Republican Office
(207) 287-1505
krysta.west@legislature.maine.gov

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

AUGUSTA – This session, Senator Eric Brakey (R-Androscoggin) has introduced a bipartisan criminal justice reform bill, “An Act To Authorize the Expungement of Records of Nonviolent Crimes.”

This bill, LR 245, is modeled after a law recently passed in Kentucky. It would allow certain people convicted of a Class E, Class D or Class C crime to petition the court to expunge all records of that crime five years after the completion of their sentence. This option would not be available for anyone with previous convictions or pending charges, convicted of crimes involving violence or sex offences or for crimes involving victims who were minors or 65 years of age or older.

“We should believe in giving people a second chance once they have served their time,” said Sen. Eric Brakey. “Everyone makes mistakes; what’s important is that we don’t let those mistakes define people or prevent them from achieving their fullest potential.”

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