No Second Chance

This 101-page report, produced by OSI grantee Human Rights Watch, is the first examination of “one strike” policies in public housing in the United States. Established to protect housing developments from potentially dangerous tenants, these policies automatically exclude applicants with certain criminal records. Unfortunately, the criteria for exclusion are needlessly overbroad and can exclude certain offenders for life—regardless of evidence of their rehabilitation. The report is based primarily on research conducted from 2003 to 2004.

About Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch (HRW) conducts regular, systematic investigations of human rights abuses in some seventy countries around the world. HRW's reputation for timely, reliable disclosures has made it an essential source of information for those concerned with human rights. HRW address the human rights practices of governments of all political stripes, of all geopolitical alignments, and of all ethnic and religious persuasions. It defends freedom of thought and expression, due process and equal protection of the law, and a vigorous civil society; it documents and denounce murders, disappearances, torture, arbitrary imprisonment, discrimination, and other abuses of internationally recognized human rights. HRW's goal is to hold governments accountable if they transgress the rights of their people.

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