Calling it a move consistent with the redemptive message of the gospel of Jesus Christ, Prison Fellowship has praised Koch Industries, Walmart, Home Depot, Best Buy and others for no longer asking about criminal history on job applications.

Jesse Wiese of Justice Fellowship, the policy arm of Prison Fellowship, said that the move by the businesses is vital in several ways.

“Continually punishing somebody for one act in their past is antithetical to the gospel and diminishes human potential and the whole concept of the Imago Dei [image of God],” he said to the Christian Post.  “Often times the best person for the job is isolated because their application is being thrown out before they can even walk in the door.”

Wiese noted that one in four Americans has a criminal record that could be used against them when looking for a job.

Mark Holden of Koch Industries told CP that the move makes “moral sense.”

“A lot of people have made mistakes when they were younger, and if they committed a felony, they may not even go through the process because they feel like their application would be thrown in the trash,” Holden said.   “We could be precluding somebody from a fair hearing with initial questions, so we would rather find out what somebody is about first.”

Prison Fellowship is a ministry to prisoners started by the late Chuck Colson after his imprisonment from the Watergate scandal.