ABSTRACT
In 2016, the Philadelphia General Assembly passed a law enabling people convicted of crimes to have their criminal records expunged (Crimes Code (18 PA.C.S), 2016). Destroying the evidence of their criminal pasts would enhance their prospects for securing employment and housing and would restore some dignity to their lives. Volunteer attorneys set up expungement clinics at various locations to assist applicants in what is a complex process available only to certain candidates. 1 Community-based activists encouraged applicants to undertake symbolic actions marking the significance of these acts of destruction. One of these groups, the People’s Paper Co-Op, led participants in printing, tearing up and then shredding their criminal records in a blender. They then turned this pulp into recycled paper upon which they would write a statement in response to the prompt ‘Without these records I am . . .’ (People’s Paper Co-Op n.d.). In 2017, a collection of these handmade papers was displayed in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, showcasing the many positive outcomes associated with destroying evidence of these past crimes. 2
