TOLEDO, Ohio —
A new Ohio law makes it easier for convicted criminals to find a place to live once they're released from jail.
House Bill 50 allows prisoners who are about to be released, and those who have recently been released, to petition the courts to receive a certificate of qualification for housing, which would make it easier for ex-convicts to find decent housing.
Willie Knighten Jr., who was released from prison in 2009 after being wrongfully convicted of murder, said the new law will open many doors for those recently released.
He said finding housing is one of the most difficult tasks upon release.
"Say for instance I'm convicted of arson. Who wants to rent to me?" Knighten said. "Say for instance I was convicted of drugs, trafficking? Should I be able to get a house by a school?"
State Sen. Paula Hicks-Hudson (D-Toledo) co-sponsored the bill and said it will "provide for those who qualify to be able to get into decent housing."
Former felons will qualify if they can show courts that they are committed to turning their lives around, proving that they have participated in rehabilitation programs before being released.
"The Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections will have something to look at," Hicks-Hudson said. "The court, no different from when they do an expungement or sealing a record, will look and see what that person's life is like and make a decision accordingly to that."
Knighten says opportunities like what HB 50 offers will reduce the recidivism rate, too.
"If a person has somewhere to lay their head, if a person has somewhere to stay, they're less likely to commit crimes because most people are committing crimes to survive," he said.