herrwalther
Member
- Joined
- May 1, 2013
- Messages
- 8,132
I am not going to vote a blanket yes or no. Having worked in corrections for 2 years, there is no blanket good choice when it comes to felons restoring their rights. The VAST majority of felons that get released from prison will offend again. The ones that learn from their mistakes and try to live as a law abiding citizen are rare in my experience.
I do think the process for rights restoration should be very simple. Serve your time, be conviction free for 1-3 years (minus small time crimes like speeding tickets, a few misdemeanors etc) and you should vote and get a clear NCIS record to buy firearms. There needs to be incentive for felons NOT to commit more crime. Typically a felon is a black mark that follows a person around forever. Few companies will hire a convicted felon for much more than gopher labor. One of my repeater inmates had all sorts of tattoos. His skin was essentially his jail and prison record all over his body. After his second arrest he started to get tattoos on his face. One day I asked him why he did that, that it would be hard to get a job when he gets back on the street. He told me the tattoos on his face were like the black mark on his record. He just decided to put it on his face so everyone would see and not just an employer who would turn him down anyway. There is a lot of sense in what he said. He is doing 15 years for armed robbery.
I do think the process for rights restoration should be very simple. Serve your time, be conviction free for 1-3 years (minus small time crimes like speeding tickets, a few misdemeanors etc) and you should vote and get a clear NCIS record to buy firearms. There needs to be incentive for felons NOT to commit more crime. Typically a felon is a black mark that follows a person around forever. Few companies will hire a convicted felon for much more than gopher labor. One of my repeater inmates had all sorts of tattoos. His skin was essentially his jail and prison record all over his body. After his second arrest he started to get tattoos on his face. One day I asked him why he did that, that it would be hard to get a job when he gets back on the street. He told me the tattoos on his face were like the black mark on his record. He just decided to put it on his face so everyone would see and not just an employer who would turn him down anyway. There is a lot of sense in what he said. He is doing 15 years for armed robbery.