I DESPERATELY need prayer about my criminal record being erased. I don’t wish to go into detail about what the charges were, but the two major ones occurred when I was 16 and then I got another minor charge when I was 18. They are all misdemeanors. I am now 22 and this has been a major hinderance in my life!
The charges from when I was 16 sound more severe than what “crimes” I actually committed, and not only did I commit one of them out of fear for my own life because school officials failed to protect me from a group of racist thugs, but I didn’t fully understand the amount of trouble I would get in for either of those “crimes” and then ended up getting a poor defense lawyer who just threw me under the bus.
Neither my father or I understood the legal system at the time and were taken advantage of by this lawyer who did nothing to try to defend me except lessen my sentence if I plead guilty, though I had no ability to explain my case to anyone. The actions of this horrible lawyer have now made it extremely difficult to get my record expunged. I have been denied employment at almost every available business in my town because of my record and have only been able to occasionally get temporary jobs. I cannot apply to transfer to a university from my community college until my record is cleared because they require a background check.
My current lawyer has done a lot to try to help me, but all of the DA’s he has talked to so far have refused to take my case to expunge my record. There is only one DA left who MAY help me and if she does not my lawyer will not be able to do anything else to help me. I have been praying earnestly for deliverance from this “snare of the fouler” as well as my girlfriend and my family. I still am trying to maintain my faith, but I am SOO worried about what will happen if this does not work out. My entire future about being able to finish my degree, get a good-enough paying job and getting married could very well be at risk because of this.
I have done SOO much to try to right my wrongs, I am an Eagle Scout, I have been working hard at my community college full time and I have even obtained a letter of recommendation from the superintendent of my county school system. It just seems like all of this is still not enough for the local court people to give me a second chance.
Again, I am trying SO HARD to trust God in this, but I just feel weak from all of this fighting, and I really need the earnest prayers of Christian brothers and sisters to help me through this time. Please keep me in your prayers and ask God to do a miraculous intervention in this situation the way I know He has done in so many others’ lives!
Thanks,
Joshua
