Thirteen states have adopted a simple criminal justice reform. It’s time for Mass. to join them.

The Boston Globe

Some problems are really hard to solve. This isn’t one of them.

Right now, about 500,000 people in Massachusetts are eligible to have their criminal records sealed. They’ve made their mistakes, done their time, paid their debt to society. And mercifully, they live in a state that allows them to move on, so that their worst moments won’t follow them for the rest of their lives.

State law lets people with misdemeanor convictions seal their records three years after completing their sentences, as long as they stay out of trouble. For felonies, the waiting period is seven years. There are exclusions in the law for sex offenses and other serious crimes.

That law is not just right. It’s also smart. But we have been lousy about putting it into practice.