Press Release: 9/17/2025

Interfaith Clergy at the MA State House to Advocated for Clean Slate Laws



***PRESS RELEASE***   



Faith Leaders United for Interfaith Day of Action



*Photos available upon request



CONTACT: Andrea Freeman, 978-895-0960



 



Boston, MA - On Wednesday, September 17, 2025, interfaith clergy and members of faith communities from across the Commonwealth gathered at the Massachusetts State House for the Clean Slate MA Interfaith Day of Action. This powerful event brought together religious leaders and advocates to urge legislators to pass Clean Slate legislation (H.1811/S.1114 and H.1693/S.1124) —critical reforms that would automate the sealing of criminal records for people who are already eligible.



 



Speakers included Rev. Rahsaan Hall, Esq. CEO/President of the Urban League of Eastern MA;  Imam Abdullah Faaruuq for the Mosque for the Praising of Allah, Roxbury, MA; Rev. Mariama White-Hammond, founding pastor of the New Rootes AME Church in Dorchester, MA; and Mark Jones with United Parish Brookline. After the gathering, 30 faith leaders and members met with their legislators to share testimonies, advocate for justice, and call on the lawmakers to support policies that reduce barriers for eligible individuals impacted by the criminal legal system. [Fact sheet]



 



The Clean Slate Initiative estimates that 523,000 people in Massachusetts are already eligible to have criminal offender record information (CORI) sealed.



 



Massachusetts currently requires individuals to navigate a complicated and burdensome process to seal their criminal records—a process that disproportionately impacts people of color. The cumbersome, slow sealing process that takes six months or more has resulted in less than 10% of those eligible having sealed records.   



 



Rev. Mariama White-Hammond, founding pastor of the New Rootes AME Church in Dorchester, MA said:“This Clean Slate work is about our faith and our family values. People we love have paid their debt, but our confusing laws make it hard for them to access a second chance. In the book of Leviticus God establishes the year of Jubilee in which we practice forgiveness and clear debts. The Vatican celebrated the year of Jubilee last week with a star-studded concert. We in Massachusetts have the opportunity to practice this year of Jubilee with sensible laws that cut unnecessary bureaucracy to help our neighbors rebuild their lives and contribute to our communities and economy.”



 



Sara Smolover, past president of Temple Beth Zion in Brookline said: “It is imperative that those who have returned to the community from incarceration have the chance to begin again, unburdened by their records, and have a Clean Slate on which to write their new stories. At this time in the Jewish year when we ask for forgiveness from those we have harmed and we forgive those who have harmed us, we ask God to seal us into the Book of Life so we can begin the new year with a Clean Slate. That’s something everyone deserves.”    



 



Status of the Clean Slate bills:




  • An Act requiring clean slate automated record sealing


    • S1114 by Sen. Cindy Friedman is with Senate Ways & Means

    • H1811 by Reps Mary Keefe & Andres Vargas was heard by the Judiciary Committee on 9/9/2025





 




  • An Act to remove collateral consequences and protect the presumption of innocence


    • S1124 by Sen. Adam Gomez is with Senate Ways & Means

    • H1693 by Rep. Brandy Fluker-Reid was heard by the Judiciary Committee on 9/9/2025