In the late 1960s, two cities—New York and Washington, D.C.—piloted programs that intervened following an arrest for a nonviolent crime. They offered a mix of counseling, job placement and training, and education. Once a defendant was enrolled in the program, prosecution would be delayed for a certain amount of time. If, during that time, the defendant reformed, charges were dismissed. The idea was simple: Give people a second chance before an arrest turns into a conviction, which turns into jail-time, which turns into a lifetime of poverty and lost opportunities.

These programs were successful and in the mid-1970s the federal government encoded that wisdom into its laws. The Speedy Trial Act contained an exemption that allowed for defendants to defer prosecution for nonviolent offenses “pursuant to written agreement with the defendant, with the approval of the court, for the purpose of allowing the defendant to demonstrate his good conduct.”

Today, that exemption is being put to good use … by corporations, which agree to certain reforms such holding ethics seminars or hiring compliance officers. But human defendants—the defendants for whom it was intended—do not often find themselves the recipient of its generosity.