Are you a violent dangerous criminal and you still haven't been vaccinated?
If so, we've got some great news for you!
It was a pretty good weekend in Louisiana's East Baton Rouge Parish if you have a criminal record and you wanted the COVID vaccine. Why? Because if you played your cards right, you got your shot...and your record has been scrubbed clean.
On Saturday (October 9), the East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney's Office held a free vaccination event where area residents could get a free COVID vaccination and get assistance filling out the proper paperwork to have their criminal records expunged.
East Baton District Attorney Hillary Moore and members of his staff, the Public Defenders Office and the Clerk of Court all gave up a day off to assist.
Moore said that to be eligible, more than five years must have passed since sentence completion for misdemeanors. For felonies, 10 years since completion of one's sentence was required. In addition, cases that did not result in a conviction were expunged immediately.
Pre-event promotion said those taking part were also eligible to win "free food and a VISA gift card."
Moore says the Parish holds the record expungements monthly, adding that this was a way to encourage an increase in the Parish's vaccination rate. Moore also said that, in most of the cases, the Parish also waived the $550 record expungement fee. An informal count showed more than 100 took advantage of the DA's offer.
Photo: Getty Images North America
BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA - AUGUST 17: Nurse Carla Brown (L) and co-worker Missy Hastings prepare to depart Bordelon's Pharmacy with vaccines to administer to residents in their homes on August 17, 2021 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Brown embarked on a personal mission to save lives and vaccinate members of underserved communities in Baton Rouge after her husband David died of COVID-19. Since March, she has helped vaccinate more than 2,000 people, many in their homes because they were elderly or did not have access to transportation. Brown and Hastings work as a team during the in-home visits where they also provide accurate vaccine information helping to dispel the fears of those who don’t trust the medical establishment. Louisiana holds one of the nation’s lowest vaccination rates with just 38 percent of its residents fully-vaccinated. COVID-19 hospitalizations hit a new daily record of more than 3,000 in the state today. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)