Guest Blog: How We Overcome the Rap Sheet
Sometimes, the biggest obstacle to healing can be a piece of paper.
The following blog is transcribed from remarks that Thistle Farms Board Chair Brooke Schiferle gave at the November Light the Way Luncheon.
I have been on the Board for 5 years, and I have had the honor and pleasure to work directly with the Residential Program. I worked with Sheila, our Residential Director, to bring legal resources and representation to the residents and graduates.
As an attorney, I am currently in private practice, but I spent a lot of my legal career as a prosecutor, and in particular I spent several years prosecuting federal human trafficking cases. So, I have worked directly with human trafficking survivors both as witnesses in my cases and in the Thistle Farms program.
I have personally witnessed the journey of women from the moment they are encountered by the criminal justice system – and that might be by being arrested or by being interviewed and offered services – until their graduation from the program.
I have seen with my own eyes the transformation of a woman from being under the complete control of a trafficker, and drugs, to finding her freedom, her love for herself, obtaining job skills, and being reunited with her children.
When we say Love is the Most Powerful Force for Change in the World, we mean it.
Today, I would like to talk with you about a document – a piece of paper - that carries an incredible amount of weight in the criminal justice system. It helps prosecutors determine what cases to bring, it informs defense attorneys about how to advise their clients, and it is relied upon by judges in determining what sentences should be imposed.
Colloquially, it is called a rap sheet. A piece of paper on which someone’s prior criminal convictions are listed. The document usually includes the arrest charge, the charge the person was ultimately convicted of, and their sentence.
It does not include the underlying facts of those arrests, whether the person was in a state of active addiction when they were arrested, whether they were being trafficked, what their life looked like in the years leading up to that conviction, or how well their attorney advocated for them in court.
Prosecutors and judges rely upon a person’s criminal history because the system believes that past conduct predicts future conduct. In other words, if they did it before, they are likely to do it again. Outside of the criminal justice system, potential employers and landlords rely heavily on it to determine if someone would be a reliable employee or a good tenant.
On its face this discrimination might make sense to you: if the person has a conviction for theft, you might think, well they might steal from me. Or if they have a conviction for vandalism, you might be afraid that they will damage property.
Often the information provided to employers and landlords is even less than what courts have: It might be just a box checked “yes” next to the question: are you a felon?
The problem is that sometimes past conduct is not the best indicator of future behavior. What if, for example, the conviction occurred when the woman was in a state of active addiction and beholden to her trafficker?
Addiction and exploitation look different for each person, but the common chord is simple: control. A trafficker controls his victim. The trafficker controls her ability to access health care. To take care of herself. Her access to money. To do things like renew her driver license or appear for court or see her probation officer. And he may use drugs as one of the tools to control her.
So, when her arrest comes from driving with a suspended license, or possessing controlled substances, or stealing, or failure to report to a probation officer…those charges look a little different when we know more about the context of control.
And what if, for example, since that conviction she has spent two years of her life in an intensive residential program where she learned to love herself, control her own destiny, and she developed valuable job skills?
The way our system is structured right now, none of that matters. All that matters is the rap sheet. The piece of paper.
Thistle Farms is working to address this problem in 4 major ways:
- Providing job training, workforce development, and meaningful employment so women can tap into their interests, develop skills, and grow their confidence as professionals.
- Providing residents and graduates with legal assistance to obtain expungement for the convictions that are eligible under current law.
- Advocating for legislative changes that would broaden eligibility for expungement for trafficking victims
- Educating the community – in particular potential employers and landlords – so that when you see that checked box “yes” you know how and why to look beyond that felon status and not use that piece of paper as a roadblock in between the job or apartment and an otherwise qualified candidate.
Those are the ways that Thistle Farms is working to overcome the obstacles posed by a survivor’s criminal history. But I would like to challenge all of you - as business owners, employers, and community members - to consider how you can be a part of this work.
How can your company create a path for a woman to establish herself in a new career and demonstrate all she has to offer?
From the court room to the board room to the newly rented living room, each one of us can make a difference. I hope you will join us in this journey – this fight – to show the world that a trafficking survivor is more than a piece of paper.
Brooke Schiferle is the 2025-2026 Thistle Farms Board Chair and an attorney with Klein, Solomon, & Mills PLLC
