The Maryland Senate passed the comprehensive crime bill for Baltimore and has sent it to the House of Delegates for review.
The crime bill offers stricter sentencing for repeat offenders and adds money for youth programs to keep kids away from crime in the first place. Being able to expunge some crimes from a person's record if it happened more than 10 years ago is another consideration in the bill.
Delegate Curt Anderson says having charges on your file from mistakes you made when you were 19 should not be relevant when you are 30.
“You've actually turned your life around because you haven't been convicted of anything since then. So, we want to give those people what's called a second chance because they've demonstrated that they can turn their lives around,” said Anderson. “They have been clean, they have been crime free for 10 years so we think they deserve a chance.
There are two weeks left in the session. Lawmakers have until then to finalize the bill.
