Clearing Renee’s Criminal Record
“God will put you back together in front of the people that broke you” was my Initial reaction when I first heard the news about my vacatur. Overwhelmed with shock and gratitude. The first person that I called was my beloved Mother. We laughed, we cried and we processed together how this change of events would uplift me to a place where I could spread my wings and fly.
- Renee
I’ll never forget the day I met Renee for the first time. She was living in a residential program for females on parole after having been released from prison. She was going to community college to obtain a degree in psychology and working at a local grocery store while there. She had expressed to us that she tried to get other jobs but couldn’t because of her criminal record. We at Free to Thrive (FTT) knew that she could have let this get her down, but she didn’t. We saw a positive and determined individual adamant not to let anything hold her back from achieving her personal goals.
Renee came to FTT in the hopes that we could help her clear her criminal record so that she could become a licensed therapist and break down the barriers that stood in her way. When me and my colleague learned about the nature of her charges, we told her this was going to be a tough case, but we would do everything we could to help. Renee had been arrested for human trafficking of a minor.
This may come as a surprise to some of you, but it is not uncommon for victims of human trafficking to be arrested for trafficking others. Traffickers are skilled creative criminals that will do whatever it takes. They often force their victims to do their dirty work and traffic others to protect themselves. When they do this, most of the evidence of trafficking is against the victim who was forced to traffic another victim. When folks like Renee are arrested, they are so traumatized and scared of retribution that they do not tell law enforcement what was really going on.
In Renee’s case, she was in a car with her trafficker and two other victims when they were pulled over. One of the other two victims was a minor. The other victim and Renee were both young adults at the time. Renee, her trafficker and the other adult victim were all Black. The minor was White. The police arrested Renee, the other adult victim and the trafficker. Shortly afterward her arrest, Renee was charged with human trafficking of a minor and other offenses. The prosecutor said they would reduce her charges if she testified against her trafficker in court. Her trafficker was a gang member and Renee knew if she said anything she would be labeled as a snitch on the streets and was as good as dead. Subsequently, she decided to keep her mouth shut. She would rather go to prison than get murdered for being a snitch. She served three years on a five year sentence in a California State prison. During that time no one ever identified her as a victim of human trafficking or gave her treatment for the severe trauma she had experienced through her victimization prior to incarceration.
Fortunately for Renee, while she was incarcerated, she rediscovered her love of reading and education. She would help other inmates learn to read, many of whom had little or no education. When she was released she knew she wanted to go to college, but she had many challenges transitioning from prison to college. Re-integrating back into society was not an easy task to do alone and she wanted to make the path easier for others making this transition. So while in college, she started a nonprofit organization to provide support for folks transitioning from prison to college.
Over the course of several years, Renee shared her entire life story with me and the other attorneys who worked on her case. This brought back all of her trauma to the surface, but she didn’t let it stop her. After compiling a 31-page declaration along with supporting documentation and pleadings, we filed her vacatur petition with the court and waited. After months of waiting, we received news from the Court that Renee’s petition was granted without any opposition from the prosecution. This means that Renee’s criminal record will be completely cleared. It will clear a path to freedom for her where she no longer will get turned away from jobs, apartments and financial aid due to her past victimization. The impact this relief will have on her life cannot be quantified.
I am in constant awe of Renee and all that she has accomplished despite the obstacles she faced. I look forward to seeing where she goes from here, without this barrier preventing her from achieving her dreams.