FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - Governor Mike Pence signed a bill into law Monday that would expunge people's records for certain crimes.
House Bill 1482 states that people with misdemeanors or minor Class D felony charges could have their records expunged after going a certain amount of time without getting in trouble again. For example, if a person had a misdemeanor charge, he or she would have to go 5 years with no more run-ins with the law, and then, they would have their record cleared which means the public would not be able to access it.
Even employers would have to start changing applications to ask the question: Have you ever been convicted of a crime that wasn't expunged?
Law enforcers said this could really open doors for people who have truly changed their lives around and want to be productive members of the community.
"If somebody truly wants to change their life and really become rehabilitated, the expungement statute gives them the freedom to say it's no longer there," said Judge Wendy Davis of the Allen County Superior Court, Criminal/Felony Division.
However, there are no third or fourth chances because people can only have their records expunged once in their lives.
The governor also signed another bill to take affect on July 1, 2014 that will change how criminals are classified. There will now be six classifications of felonies rather than four. That bill will cut down on the amount of time less serious offenders have to serve, and it makes it so extremely violent offenders will serve more time in jail.