50-mile march pushes for CORI reform

(Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff)

Walkers, including Angela Valez (center) and Gloriana Candelaria (under umbrella), both of Holyoke, head toward the State House.

By John C. Drake, Globe Staff

About 120 advocates pushing to reform criminal records law converged on Bunker Hill Community College today for the last leg of a march from Worcester to the State House.

"These 50 miles don't compare to the struggles we face everyday," said Yakov Kronrod, a founding member of Ex-prisoners and Prisoners Organizing for Community Advancement.

Misdemeanor convictions stay on a person's criminal record in Massachusetts for 10 years and felonies remain for 15 years. These convictions can be seen by potential employers, and advocates say the records are routinely used to deny people jobs after they have paid their debt to society.

Governor Deval Patrick introduced a bill that would cut the time in half that a person must wait to have their criminal records sealed. Patrick's proposal has stalled in the Legislature along with a more comprehensive bill called the Public Safety Act, which would further reduce the waiting period and provide more protections for job-seekers with criminal records.

The protesters plan to rally at the State House this afternoon. The march began in Worcester on Sunday and protesters stayed overnight in churches en route to Boston.

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