California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a law that provides for the expungement of criminal records for inmates who have helped fight the widespread wildfires raging across the state, KRON 4 news reports.
The law would provide for those inmates who have trained with the state Conservation Camps and participated in firefighting efforts can petition the court to have non-violent crimes expunged from their record, enabling them to apply for jobs as firefighters or continue training to become an Emergency Medical Technician. The law notes that more than 1,800 incarcerated individuals helped fight wildfires over the last three years. Three of them have been killed in those fires.
Expunging the felony arrests of the individuals would allow these people to continue training in certain professional fields that would otherwise have barred them because of their convictions.