(Editor's note: This op-ed was submitted in response to Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney's piece "A 'Clean Slate' for Criminals at the Expense of Victims Is Unacceptable," which the Law Journal published on June 6.)

The Clean Slate Act is on the verge of passage here in New York and that is a win for all New Yorkers.

By increasing economic justice and opportunity, Clean Slate will allow millions of people to support their families and make communities stronger and safer. Survivors of domestic violence, as well as victims of other crimes—many who have conviction histories themselves— will benefit from the passage of this long overdue and transformative bill.

Our legal system should not permanently bar those who have completed their sentences from accessing basic life essentials, but that's exactly what happens right now.