I was recently made aware of a situation that I find I can not answer for myself, much less the people it concerns.What it boils down to is this.
Does a convicted felon in the United States ever finish his or her sentence?
First, I should start with a background. The person in question took a job only to be fired from the same job after 4 hours. The job was in taking political poll questions over the phone, with no financial or important personal information obtained. Ten years before, the person was charged and convicted of a class E felony for writing a "hot check" for $170.00. ( In the State of Texas, this is, or was at the time, a state felony ). The person pled no contest and served 4 years probation, no jail time.
As I understand the situation, this individual can not get a job that requires a back ground check, can not obtain a business license, can not drive a truck, work as a cashier, or even get a job digging ditches for a temporary agency due to having a "felony number". He also is not allowed to vote, run for office, have a bank account ( in some states ) or , even though he has a college degree, is not allowed to teach in a public school.
Discouraged and angry, the individual asked me " Why shouldn't I just set up a meth lab or go rob a bank? What am I supposed to do if I'm never allowed to make a decent living. It's almost like I'm serving a life sentence for that lousy $170.00 check!"
After looking into the subject, I find I'm hard pressed not to advise him against setting up his meth lab.
Outside of getting a presidential pardon, or getting his record expunged, there is nothing he can do. As a felon he can't vote, so what elected official is going to give a tinkers damn about his ability to support himself or his family.
A person guilty of a crime should serve their time, that goes with out saying. But where do we draw the line on the punishment they recieve? As it stands now, it seems to me that these people are serving a life sentence for what ever crime, no matter how ( relitivly ) insignifigant that they have commited. I find this especielly troubling when I consider what constitutes a "felony" in some cases. In many states, possession of 10 grams of marijuana is a felony. If you are dishonorably discharged from the military for being a homosexual, thats a felony. In some states, a "hot check" for over $100.00 can be a felony. When you go further to consider that 1 in 7 convicted felons represented by a public defender are not guilty of the crime they are serving time for, it is even more troubling.
So when do we as a society allow these people to finish their sentences? When the judge said, or not untill they are deceased?