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When William Hacket was asked to host a free event at his Trenton barbershop to help ex-offenders get their criminal records expunged, he jumped at the chance to help.
“We are thankful to be a vessel for anything positive for others,” said Hacket, who opened Razor Sharp barbershop in 2001. “If there’s something that we know that could benefit other people, we… want to be a part of it.”
On Wednesday, Hacket co-hosted the “Fresh Start: An Expungement Clinic” event at Razor Sharp, 20 Passaic St., with Stono Public Affairs, a Trenton-based lobbying firm, and the New Jersey Office of the Public Defender.
About 24 people pre-registered for the event, said James Gee, Stono Public Affairs’ founding principal, but over 75 showed up for help with expungement and pardon applications.
Gee, who gets his hair cut at Razor Sharp, suggested the event take place there to encourage people of diverse backgrounds to come.
“A lot of people didn’t sign up before. They just planned to show up,” said Gee, of Trenton, whose firm helped advertise and register people for the event. “We had one person come from Cleveland, who had gotten a charge in New Jersey and then had to come back here to get an expungement.”
An expungement allows the removal or sealing of criminal records on file in a court, detention or correctional facility for certain categories of offenses, eliminating a barrier to employment for ex-offenders.
New Jersey Public Defender Jennifer Sellitti attended Wednesday’s event with five other attorneys from her office – Kimberly Schultz, Alison Perrone, Michele Friedman, Steve Gallagher, and Stephen Hunter – and para legals Juilana Cannon and Letisha Thurston.
She noted that a criminal record does not define a person, but having it expunged or pardoned can have a positive impact on their life.
“(They’ll) be able to get on with their lives, get the job they’re looking for, get the services they’re looking for, or the license that they need to improve their lives,” she said.
Sellitti said some people can’t have their record expunged because some categories of offenses, including criminal homicide, sexual offenses, robbery, and arson, don’t qualify for expungement.
However, she said some individuals may be eligible for a pardon or executive order forgiving a person for a crime and relieving them of some consequences of the conviction.
“It gives people more than one avenue to potentially clear up some things that are holding them back,” Sellitti said.
During Wednesday’s event, Gee said Volunteers for America, a faith-based nonprofit that provides social services, provided a van that served as a mobile legal clinic, where attendees spoke with attorneys from the public defender’s office.
The attorneys “used (the van) to interview people about their background and what they were charged with to see if they’re eligible for expungement,” he said. “Then, if they qualified, an attorney filed the paperwork to request an expungement.”
Sellitti said the work was fulfilling.
“It was so wonderful to be out in the community, not only helping folks with this process, but it’s a fun part of our job,” she said.
While helping process expungement applications, Sellitti said people told her about their lives and how their criminal records had impacted them.
“It’s stopping them potentially from getting a job or getting their professional license,” Sellitti said. “So, to be able to sit with people, tell them that they qualify, process that paperwork, and just to really see the look of joy on their faces when they know that this will no longer be following them around, it’s just wonderful.”
Hacket was pleased, too. Since opening the shop, he said he has continued to find ways to give back to the community through initiatives, such as providing free back-to-school haircuts and school supplies to kids.
When asked if he would allow another expungement event at his business, Hacket said he would.
“We’re a community-based barbershop, and we give God all the glory,” he said. “So…absolutely, that’s what we’re here for and we’re thankful that this event was able to happen here.”
To apply for an expungement, visit the New Jersey Courts’ website or email dc.expungement@opd.nj.gov. For more information about pardon and/or how to apply, visit the state’s clemency page or email pdclemency@opd.nj.gov.