WILMINGTON — “Having a clean slate is like a new chance at life,” Angela DiMauro states in the opening of a video sharing her story about living with a record in Delaware. This video, along with three others, premiered at a virtual storyteller event hosted by the Clean Slate Delaware campaign and the National Clean Slate Initiative on Tuesday, March 15.
In another storyteller video premiered at the event, Gina Martinez, who also lives with a record in Delaware, explored her distant past and how much that past has created barriers in her life today. Martinez, who went to prison over 10 years ago from a theft charge related to her substance addiction, has been sober now for 12 years. But the record from that charge still haunts her. “I recently decided to go for [a] pardon,” Martinez said in the video. “Having the possibility of a clean slate, for me, is a sense of relief... I do believe everybody is deserving of a second chance.”
Both DiMauro and Martinez joined Tuesday’s virtual event live to participate in the panel of speakers, which also included John Reynolds, manager of the Clean Slate Delaware campaign, and was moderated by Sheena Meade, executive director of the national Clean Slate Initiative. The event featured a live Q&A, allowing attendees to ask the panelists questions and learn more about record clearance in Delaware.
The videos premiered at the event were produced by the Center for American Progress, in partnership with the Clean Slate Delaware campaign.
Clean Slate Explainer Video - English
Clean Slate Explainer Video - Spanish
These buttons will take you to a third-party website, YouTube.com.
“The Clean Slate Initiative works to advance automatic record clearance reforms across the country. Behind every record is a person with a story," said Meade. “We are honored to be partners in the Clean Slate Delaware campaign - winning critical policy change, while also elevating powerful stories of redemption, opportunity, and second chances.”
Nationally, nearly 1 in 3 people have some sort of record. Up to 400,000 people who have a record in Delaware live with limited access to jobs, housing, education, starting a business, or participating fully in social and civic community life. 290,000 of those people are eligible for mandatory expungement, but, the event noted, eligibility doesn't always mean access.
“The Clean Slate legislation passed in 2021 can help make expungement more accessible, but the bills passing were just the first step: we still have to put in the work to get there,” said Reynolds as he talked about next steps for the Clean Slate Delaware campaign. “We will continue to work on expanding access to second chances by ensuring that people living with a Delaware record are aware of eligibility requirements, updated laws, and how they can start the process of clearing eligible records.”
Partners on the Clean Slate Delaware campaign include ACLU of Delaware, Center for American Progress, Clean Slate Initiative, and Delaware Center for Justice.
