On Sunday, Aug. 20, the San Antonio Express published CDIA’s letter to the editor, Background checks keep renters safe.  CDIA’s letter was in response to Peggy O’Hare’s Aug. 5 article, “Tenants’ criminal histories pose potential legal snag for housing providers”.  The Aug. 5 article over-simplified a complicated issue and CDIA needed to correct the record.  First, criminal background checks are a critical tool to predict future crimes, like burglary, arson, and sexual assault. Second, the article perpetuates the myth of a magical redemption period after a certain period, like seven years.  There is no magic number of years that lessens the occurrence of recidivism. No matter how much research is undertaken, the search for a single bright redemption line is likely doomed to fail.