Thousands of residents in the valley are working through the process of having their previous felony convictions dropped to misdemeanors. It’s an element of Proposition 47 intended to help provide people with a clean slate and re-integrate more easily back into society. Advocates and the public defender in Merced are working hard to get the word out.
For years, Jesse Oralas lived the life of a drug addict, being homeless and piling up felony drug convictions which made him, in his words, ‘unemployable’.
A few years ago, through a drug treatment program, he has was able to have those felonies taken off his record, which he says helped him turn his life around.
“Not having felonies gave me even more confidence to go out and get jobs. Gave me the confidence to pursue my education. I don’t feel so out of place any more. I feel like I am integrated into society for the most part,” Oralas said.
Oralas is not a Prop 47 case, which turned a number of non-violent and drug related offenses from felonies to misdemeanors and allows those convictions to be retroactively re-scheduled.
But he does attend outreach meetings set up by the Merced Organizing Project to talk to other felons about how changing their conviction could help them.
“When people hear my story, I hope that they feel hope. That it is not the end of the road for them. That they don’t need to give up. That they can keep pushing and keep trying,” Oralas said.
"Not having felonies gave me even more confidence to go out and get jobs. Gave me the confidence to pursue my education," Jesse Oralas
The Merced Organizing Project’s campaign is called Live Free Merced.
They recently held an information session in the small town of Winton.
Jacob Castro attended to see about getting a ten year old check fraud and drug conviction wiped from his record.
He says the conviction has followed him, making it difficult to raise his seven kids, even though he hasn’t broken the law in a decade.
“It has probably held me back in the workforce and stuff like that. My initial thought in what it means to be able to get up and do certain things and not thinking about cops. Go to college or go get your license,” Castro said.
Claudia Gonzalez works with the Merced Organizing Project and says they think there are as many as 6-thousand convicted felons in the county who could be eligible for a reduced conviction.
"And to have this opportunity to me and to other people who have changed their lives and have gone through programs. I think we deserve a chance," Aileen Logan
“Especially in south Merced. Many families make under 21-thousand. They don’t have access to the internet. Or a lot of them don’t have access to smart phones. How are they going to get this information? So it is our job to get to them,” Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez says they are especially focusing on the Hispanic community, including those who are undocumented.
Another Merced resident, Aileen Logan also spent years addicted to drugs and has three felony convictions for stealing from stores to support her habit.
She is about to have her convictions reduced, which she says is the clean slate she needs to continue living a clean life.
“People do change and in society’s view they don’t see that. They don’t see that people can change their lives. And to have this opportunity to me and to other people who have changed their lives and have gone through programs. I think we deserve a chance,” Logan said.
The 34-year old Logan says she has been sober for three years and is trying to raise her four kids, and having burglary felonies on her record has been a huge impediment to getting a job.
“And that’s where I stand today. I want that off my record because that is not who I am anymore. I don’t go out there and steal from stores because I don’t have to survive anymore,” Logan said.
Logan was informed about rescheduling her convictions by the county’s public defender Vincent Andrade.
He has made out reach about Prop 47 options a priority for his office, holding special office hours, teaming up with Live Free Merced, and working closely with local prosecutors and judges to move the cases as quickly as possible.
He thinks as many as 600 people have already gone through the process.
“It increases their options in life. And once they increase their options the choices they had been faced with seem less appealing. Whether it is drugs. Whether it is low level offense like shoplifting. It increase their options from making those types of choices,” Andrade said.
He says in addition to lack of knowledge about the law in general, there is a misunderstanding about which crimes can be reduced to misdemeanors.
Additionally, the advocates say many people who could benefit from the process are reluctant seek help because they distrust the criminal justice system that may have mistreated in the past.
But they think as more people successfully complete rescheduling that will generate interest, knowledge, and trust about the program.
Thousands of residents in the valley are working through the process of having their previous felony convictions dropped to misdemeanors. It’s an element of proposition 47 intended to help provide people with a clean slate and re-integrate more easily back into society. Advocates and the public defender in Merced are working hard to get the word out.
For years, Jesse Oralas lived the life of a drug addict, being homeless and piling up felony drug convictions which made him, in his words, ‘unemployable’.
A few years ago, through a drug treatment program, he has was able to have those felonies taken off his record, which he says helped him turn his life around.
“Not having felonies gave me even more confidence to go out and get jobs. Gave me the confidence to pursue my education. I don’t feel so out of place any more. I feel like I am integrated into society for the most part,” Oralas said.
Oralas is not a Prop 47 case, which turned a number of non-violent and drug related offenses from felonies to misdemeanors and allows those convictions to be retroactively re-scheduled.
But he does attend outreach meetings set up by the Merced Organizing Project to talk to other felons about how changing their conviction could help them.
“When people hear my story, I hope that they feel hope. That it is not the end of the road for them. That they don’t need to give up. That they can keep pushing and keep trying,” Oralas said.
The Merced Organizing Project’s campaign is called Live Free Merced.
They recently held an information session in the small town of Winton.
Jacob Castro attended to see about getting a ten year old check fraud and drug conviction wiped from his record.
He says the conviction has followed him, making it difficult to raise his seven kids, even though he hasn’t broken the law in a decade.
“It has probably held me back in the workforce and stuff like that. My initial thought in what it means to be able to get up and do certain things and not thinking about cops. Go to college or go get your license,” Castro said.
Claudia Gonzalez works with the Merced Organizing Project and says they think there are as many as 6-thousand convicted felons in the county who could be eligible for a reduced conviction.
“Especially in south Merced. Many families make under 21-thousand. They don’t have access to the internet. Or a lot of them don’t have access to smart phones. How are they going to get this information? So it is our job to get to them,” Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez says they are especially focusing on the Hispanic community, including those who are undocumented.
Another Merced resident, Aileen Logan also spent years addicted to drugs and has three felony convictions for stealing from stores to support her habit.
She is about to have her convictions reduced, which she says is the clean slate she needs to continue living a clean life.
“People do change and in society’s view they don’t see that. They don’t see that people can change their lives. And to have this opportunity to me and to other people who have changed their lives and have gone through programs. I think we deserve a chance,” Logan said.
The 34-year old Logan says she has been sober for three years and is trying to raise her four kids, and having burglary felonies on her record has been a huge impediment to getting a job.
“And that’s where I stand today. I want that off my record because that is not who I am anymore. I don’t go out there and steal from stores because I don’t have to survive anymore,” Logan said.
Logan was informed about rescheduling her convictions by the county’s public defender Vincent Andrade.
He has made out reach about Prop 47 options a priority for his office, holding special office hours, teaming up with Live Free Merced, and working closely with local prosecutors and judges to move the cases as quickly as possible.
He thinks as many as 600 people have already gone through the process.
“It increases their options in life. And once they increase their options the choices they had been faced with seem less appealing. Whether it is drugs. Whether it is low level offense like shoplifting. It increase their options from making those types of choices,” Andrade said.
He says in addition to lack of knowledge about the law in general, there is a misunderstanding about which crimes can be reduced to misdemeanors.
Additionally, the advocates say many people who could benefit from the process are reluctant seek help because they distrust the criminal justice system that may have mistreated in the past.
But they think as more people successfully complete rescheduling that will generate interest, knowledge, and trust about the program.
