Harsher Sentences in Exchange for Expungement?

I think that our CJ system should impose the option of harsher penalties in exchange for no criminal records (expungement) in more cases. For example, someone convicted of a DUI should have the option of serving a significantly tougher sentence and then not having a record.

The idea of a "criminal record" is two fold: it is part of their debt to society (?) and it alerts those who do screenings of their past. Okay. But, if their sentence doesn't fully meet what counts as their debt to society, then that should be covered by the harsher sentence option. For the second question, I'd say that there are some cases that maybe ought not be expunged, but the reality is that when you make it harder for someone convicted of a crime to get a job, you're increasing the rate of reoffending. And, in the cases like DUI (most of the sorts of crimes i'm talking about), it's probably an overcorrection to have a permanent black mark on their record. I don't care if they keep it somewhere in sealed files so they can take it into account if there is a reoffense, however.

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