There are thousands of ex-offenders who are, in effect, serving a life sentence without having been sentenced to such punishment by any court.  I am speaking of the first time, non-violent offender who, due to the current policy, must spend the rest of their lives suffering the collateral consequences bearing the stigma of a federal felony conviction. For far too many this stigma becomes a civil death sentence.  

 Since the year 2000, there have been six pieces of legislation introduced to Congress seeking expungement relief for those who meet the requirements .  To date not one bill has ever made it out of committee.  The time has come to grant relief to those who deserve a second chance and give them a fresh start.

 Congressman Steve Cohen of Tennessee has introduced H.R.5492 the "Fresh Start Act of 2010".  This legislation will offer relief to many of those who suffer from this miscarriage of justice.
You may view the complete text of the bill  at Open Congress.org, or the Library of Congress site "Thomas"

 This bill is win, win.  It will cost the taxpayer very little to implement and, by reducing recidivism, will lower the cost to taxpayers of further incarceration of those individuals who will now be able to lead successful lives.  In addition, unlike predecessors, H.R.5492 offers incentives to the individual states to adopt similar expungement procedures regarding state offenses.

This is not a free ride.  It is only an opportunity for a first time, non- violent ex-offender to earn a second chance. 

Official Summary of H.R.5492 the "Fresh Start Act of 2010":

Introduced by Congressman Steve Cohen of Tennessee June 9, 2010.

 The Fresh Start Act of 2010 - Amends the federal criminal code to allow an individual convicted of a nonviolent criminal offense to file a petition for expungement of the record of such conviction if such individual:

 (1) has never been convicted of any criminal offense other than the nonviolent offense for which expungement is sought;

 (2) has fulfilled all requirements of the sentence of the court, including payment of all fines, restitution, or assessments and completion of terms of imprisonment and probation; and

 (3) has remained free (if required by the court's sentence) from dependency on or abuse of alcohol or a controlled substance for at least one year.

 Requires the Attorney General to maintain an unaltered nonpublic copy of expunged criminal records, to be disclosed for limited purposes to federal, state, or local law enforcement agencies.

 Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to increase by 5% grant funding under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program to states that implement expungement procedures substantially similar to the procedures enacted by this Act. Decreases such grant funding by 5% for states that fail to adopt expungement procedures.

Do your part.  Contact your Congressperson(s) and urge them to support this bill