The U.S. locks up more people than any other nation, and therefore releases more people from prison each year – more than 650,000 per year (120,000 per year in L.A. County alone). And with a job market that increasingly locks out people with criminal convictions experts say it is no wonder that nearly 70% of people who come home from California prisons return within one year of their release. “How can we in good conscience expect people with past convictions to turn their lives around when we force them to wear shackles,” said Supervisor Yvonne Burke. Her motion called the Fair Employment Resolution would remove the criminal conviction question from L.A. applications. More U.S. Cities Removing Criminal Record Questions from Job Applications. Across the country cities and counties are undoing the stigma and discrimination that follows people with criminal records. Major U.S. cities (including Boston, Chicago, Minneapolis, San Francisco, St. Paul and Alameda County California) are calling the dreaded question – hypocritical and discriminatory.
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