YOUTHFUL OFFENDER BILL PASSES VOTE IN HOUSE

RALEIGH - A bill giving youthful offenders a chance to get felonies
erased from their records gained initial approval from the state
House on Wednesday.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Alice Bordsen, D-Alamance, would allow
16- and 17-year-olds who commit "low-level felonies" after they serve
their sentence or probation, perform 100 hours of community service
and stay out of trouble for an additional two years. It passed by a 61-53 vote.

"This is a bill to offer an incentive to those young, non-violent
felons to redeem themselves," Bordsen said during floor debate.

Major felonies - such as murder, rape, kidnapping, larger drug
trafficking offenses, robbery, manslaughter and malicious use of an
explosive - would not be eligible for expunction. Nor would any
offense that had assault as an eleme t of the crime or offenses under
which someone would have to register as a sex offender.

Crimes eligible for expunction include larcenies, receiving stolen
vehicles, trafficking of smaller amounts of drugs, forgery, breaking
into coin or currency machines and perjury.

Opponents of the bill argued that allowing such records to be erased
would be bad for law enforcement agencies seeking to hire officers
and businesses doing background checks on potential employees.

"What we're doing with this bill is wiping a lot of that information
out," said Rep. Joe Kiser, R-Lincoln. "That's the reason that most of
your DAs and most of your sheriffs oppose this bill."

"I think it's about the public's right to know," said Rep. John
Blust, R-Guilford. "What you do in life sticks with you. I think
that's important for young people to learn early - that there are
consequences to your action."

Rep. Cary Allred, R-Alamance, noted that the bill grew out of a drug
bust in the Alamance-Burlington Schools in February 2004.

"None of these young people were prosecuted unless they were caught
selling at least two times," Allred said. "They knew that they were
doing wrong."

Allred said that passing such a bill would send the message to
students that you can sell drugs one time and get your record expunged.

But supporters focused on how offering a clean record to youthful
offenders would provide an incentive to turn their lives around.

"Remember now, we're talking about 16- and 17-year-olds who have
violated the law," said Rep. Ronnie Sutton, D-Robeson. "Only
deserving folks will get the opportunity."

"We don't need to mark our 16- and 17-year-olds for life just to have
that information available," said Rep. Hugh Holliman, D-Davidson. "I
think we need to work to give them a second chance."

Some of the debate focused on if some of the people in law
enforcement supported the bill even though their professional
organizations said they opposed it.

Rep. Alice Underhill, D-Craven, said she had spoken with a sheriff
who supported the bill.

Allred, when questioned by another representative, said that the
sheriff in Alamance County opposed it.

Alamance County Sheriff Terry Johnson said that he was "totally
against" Bordsen's bill. However, he said he would support a bill
allowing misdemeanors to be expunged.

"You know right from wrong by the time you're six years old," Johnson said.

Bordsen said that the bill would help bring some "consistency and
rationality" in dealing with 16- and 17-year-olds.

She noted that such people are not considered adults when it comes to
entering into contracts, yet are considered adults when it comes to
criminal acts. She said that the 49 other states all have a mechanism
allowing such people to either have their records sealed or expunged.
And she said that allowing for expunction of records would help such
offenders get into college, obtain financial aid and get a job.

The February 2004 drug sweep netted the arrest of about four-dozen
teenagers, including JamesOn Curry, the state's leading high school
basketball scorer. Following his conviction, Curry lost his
basketball scholarship to play at UNC-Chapel Hill. He now plays at
Oklahoma State.

The bill is expected back on the House floor for a final vote today.