I Deserve a Second Chance
By Ronald Lewis
I had made it through my teenage years without getting into any trouble. Not even a speeding ticket. All that changed one night in my 20s. In August 2004, I was leaving my steady job at Temple University Hospital and going to meet my brother. Police who thought my brother was dealing drugs stopped us and arrested him. They saw my gun and arrested me too—even though I had a permit to carry it. When police officers realized they couldn’t charge me with possession of a firearm, the officer at the station charged me with conspiracy instead.
While waiting for my court date, I made another mistake: I was picked up for retail theft for taking a bag from a department store. I pleaded to misdemeanors for both, and received probation for both incidents.
In those moments, I was ashamed. I already had a son and now had a daughter on the way. I felt I had disappointed my family. But I was admitting my mistakes and completing the punishment. I never even served a day in jail. I thought that would be the end of my contact with the criminal justice system.
I couldn’t have been more wrong.
What I soon found out is this mistake would come to follow me long after I was off probation.
I was determined to find a path forward. I received my building engineering license to run high-pressure boilers and began to apply for jobs in that field. I was able to find a job and started working. I was starting feel like my life was making sense. The whole time I was completely upfront about my past, my misdemeanors. Yet when the background check came back, after I had already been on the job for a number of weeks, I was immediately removed from the premises, fired from the job because of my criminal record.
Again I was returned to that horrible moment years before. The feelings of embarrassment and shame returned. I had had a job since I was 16 and now I wasn’t going to be able to support my family.
I wanted to move on. I went on together another license in HVAC as well as other certificates in heating and air conditioning but I continued to face rejection over and over again when applying for work. Getting close to a position where I was told I had everything they were looking for until I had to answer the question about my record. That ended the process really quickly.
It felt like I was walking around in prison.
It’s been over 11 years since I was charged. But I refuse to live my life trapped by that lapse in judgment. I speak to youth in Philadelphia, explaining how I am still followed by these mistakes and hope that sharing my experiences will deter others.
I continue to speak out and speak up any chance I get but we can do more. We need to change attitudes. We need employers will to look past these records and they’re starting to. We need to give those with a record a second chance.
Our leaders must understand that we should not be defined by our worst day. That’s why this week I’ll be heading to Washington, D.C., for an important event with lawmakers confronting the obstacles that those leaving prison or were charged with a crime face on a daily basis.
We need these leaders and those across the country to support legislative solutions that enable people with records to earn a clean slate and have a fair chance at employment. I will use my experience to give a voice to the one in three Americans who have a record and simply want to provide for their family. We need to be given the opportunity to do so.
I made mistakes. Most of us have. The only difference is that my mistakes are on record. On my record. But years after admitting to my mistakes, taking full responsibility for them, and getting my life together, those mistakes are still following me around. More than a decade after paying my dues, I shouldn’t have to continue to face roadblocks in providing for my family and being part of society.
My mistakes shouldn’t be a life sentence.
Want more justice reform? Follow @USJusticeAction on Twitter.
U.S. Justice Action Network, which works across the country to pass legislation to end overcriminalization, safely reduce the jail and prison population and related taxpayer costs, and break down barriers for those leaving prison to successfully re-enter society.
