On a West Virginia summer day more than 50 years ago, Joe was at the local swimming pool when he was pulled out by police and charged with a crime he didn’t commit.

“It happened to me in 1968. A guy I knew wanted to get with my sister, and I didn’t let him associate with her. He and two other guys, they may have robbed a truck, and they needed an alibi, and they chose me as a fall guy.”

Ultimately, Joe was found guilty of assault and battery and got a year on probation.

He tried to move forward with his life, but the felony on his record haunted him, creating obstacles to jobs and opportunities.

Joe joined the military, where he first heard about getting his record expunged from staff at the VA.

“I wanted to be a chef. I had opportunities, but I couldn’t get there because this thing was on my record weighing me down,” he says. “I went to this lawyer, that lawyer—I needed money. I couldn’t afford it. I almost gave up, but I never did. I would just let it go for a while then start up again.”

The breaking point for Joe came after he was honorably discharged from service. He tried to visit the commissary and was denied entry because of his record.

“I couldn’t go. I said, ‘What?’ Me saying I didn’t do it meant nothing. They said this is what’s on your record so that’s what happened. We need proof that this isn’t on your record.”

Last year, Joe heard about Legal Aid of WV (LAWV) and decided it was worth a try. Though he now lives out of state, the initial charge was in West Virginia.

He called and was assigned to LAWV attorney, Abigail, to help him start the expungement process. She then referred him to Andrew, an attorney who specializes in helping veterans with legal issues.

“My wife has Parkinson’s,” Joe explains. “It’s hard for me to leave my house. I couldn’t leave her to get down there to West Virginia.”

Abigail and Andrew worked with Joe and his niece to get together paperwork. He filed for expungement, with hope it could be granted without an in-person appearance for Joe.

On another summer day, 57 years after the first, Joe’s expungement was granted.

“When Abigail and then Andrew, face unseen, said they would help me, I just couldn’t believe it. Then they called me and told me it was done—they had done this for me—I was just so elated. Andrew did everything he could do. And I’ll appreciate it until the day I die.”