Emotions run high on extraordinary day in the RI State House

Video courtesy of CapitolTV.

PROVIDENCE — In a day of raw emotions at the Rhode Island State House, one lawmaker confessed past drug abuse, another read a poem she wrote to her late mother, and a third talked about her unanswered questions as an adoptee.

Among them, Pawtucket Rep. Leonela Felix, who, as a candidate last fall, made no secret of her troubled past. 

Thursday marked the first time she felt compelled to tell her story, on camera, to her House colleagues. It came during a debate over a bill introduced by Providence Rep. Scott Slater to reclassify simple possession of 10 grams or less of certain illicit drugs as a misdemeanor rather than a felony.

A person charged with a misdemeanor, who keeps a clean record for five years after completing his or her sentence, can petition to have the record sealed. With a felony, the interval is 10 years.

"Once someone gets that felony ... it's like a scarlet letter that they carry around with them for the rest of their lives. It affects their families. ... It affects housing, employment,'' Slater said. "You do your best. You go to AA. You get your treatment and you still can't get out of that cycle ... no matter how much you improve your life."

Read the full article from Providence Journal, here.