Former Bay Area Inmates Embrace Second Chance, Expunge Criminal Records Under New State Law

CBS San Francisco

May 17, 2023

SAN FRANCISCO – Hundreds of thousands of Bay Area residents with a criminal past are getting a chance to build a better future by expunging their criminal records.

The new program is aimed at helping them re-enter the housing and job markets with a clean slate. Senate Bill 731, passed last fall, makes California the first state in the nation to allow people to permanently expunge old convictions on their criminal records.

Former Bay Area inmate Valente Espino has been arrested multiple times. On Tuesday, he celebrated having a new chance at life after years of living with a criminal record. He was able to start the process of getting his records expunged under the historic new state law.

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