These guys spent 5 years grinding it out at whatever shit job would hire them just to spend 2 more in school + working with the hope of getting a simple rack & stack job, all because of some mistake they made in their late teens/early twenties. It was the exact same story 3 times, and all involving drug offenses.
It really gave me a different perspective on the situation. I don't think these 3 people should've been sidelined for 7 years. They could've been productive members of society well before that. Keeping them out of the skilled/professional workforce is painful.
This could be a huge untapped pool of candidates, as long as companies are willing to take the risk. I hope it takes off.
OP: Thanks for starting this, good luck, I've been thinking about doing something similar for a while now!