More than 85,000 minor cannabis-related convictions, some as old as 60, will be automatically cleared from criminal records thanks to a computerized "pilot program" launched in California, where the use and sale of cannabis for recreational purposes has been legalized since 2018.
This measure "is going to be a well-deserved relief for people of color who have suffered disproportionately from the unfair consequences of our nation's laws" in this regard, said Los Angeles County Attorney Jackie Lacey in a statement on Thursday where some 66,000 convictions will be erased.
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Experts believe that the consumption and sale of cannabis concerns all ethnic and cultural origins in the same proportions. Yet a 2016 study found that black Americans, who make up only 6% of the California population, make up almost 25% of inmates jailed exclusively for cannabis-related offenses or crimes.
Of the approximately 53,000 people in total affected by the erasure measure in Los Angeles County, 32% are black, 45% Latin American and 20% white, according to the prosecutor's office. These convictions, some of which dated back to 1961, often hinder employment or the search for housing.
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The California law which had legalized the use and sale of cannabis for recreational purposes also provided for the possibility for persons convicted of crimes de facto ceasing to exist (possession, sale or cultivation of small quantities of cannabis, etc.). ask a judge to clear them from their criminal records. The process was initially to be started by the convicts themselves, it was difficult and costly and only 3% of those eligible came forward. Faced with these difficulties, California had decided to automatically erase these convictions by July 1, 2020, a titanic job for its judicial system.
An NGO called Code for America, whose goal is to help the American public authorities to enter the “digital era” , has therefore established a partnership with several Californian counties to offer them an algorithm capable of automatically identifying eligible cases. "This technology can analyze the eligibility of thousands of convictions in a few seconds, which frees the teams of the prosecutor from examining the cases one by one in the criminal archives," welcome the services of Ms. Lacey.
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"This is the clear demonstration that an automatic erasure on a large scale is feasible and can help repair injustices," says Evonne Silva, responsible for legal matters within Code for America.
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