Felonies: A hard head, makes a soft behind

Are your opportunities handcuffed by past convictions?

You guys know by now that I am an attorney, who does not practice criminal law.  I try to stay away from it as much as possible.  However, with what I have done in the past, my practice sometimes crossed paths with criminal law.

I don't know how many times people have to tell kids and even adults the ramifications of a felony conviction.  Your rights are pretty much frozen.  No voting, no housing, no source of income.  Not to mention being locked up in a self-inflicted plantation aka prison.

Then when you come out, you plead with someone to give you a chance.  There are services available that will assist many felons in obtaining housing and good employment.  However the road is hard...very hard.

Taken from 360degrees.org:WI WAS CONVICTED ON DRUG DISTRIBUTION. IVE BEEN OUT FOR ALMOST 3YRS. WELL IVED READ A FEW OF THE STORIES. I HAVE LOTS OF PLOBLEMS MYSELF I HAVE TO PAY $913.00 a MNTH FOR CHILDSUPPORT IN THE STATE OF MISSOURRI AND $384.00 FOR THE STATE OF TEXAS AND I HAVE TO PAY COURT FEES AND PAROLE FEES ALSO. NOW HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO BETTER OURSELFS IF SOCIETY KEEPS PUSHING US BACK TO THE SAME LIFE WE USED TO LIVE IN?... THE JOB THAT I HAVE NOW IS A CASH PAYING JOB AND I ONLY MAKE ABOUT $250.00 A WEEK AND SOMETIMES MY BOSS ONLY PAYS ME HALF OF THAT... WHAT CAN I DO? I HAVE TO BARE WITH THIS IGNORENCE OF PEOPLE THAT SIMPLY SAYS" IM SORRY WE DON'T HIRE PEOPLE WITH A CRIMINAL BACKGROUND" AND I BELIEVE THAT WE DESERVE A 2nd CHANCE RIGHT! AND NOT BE TREATED AS FAILURES!!! BECAUSE I ALWAYS BELIEVE AND SAY THIS"PRISON IS WHERE SOCIETY SENDS ITS FAILURES, BUT IN THIS "COUNTRY" SOCIETY ITS SELF IS FAILING" SO WHO IS BETTER?... SO DON'T STOP TRYING TO FIND A JOB OR A HOME TO BETTER OURSELFS, BECUASE I HAVENT STOPPED TRYING. ITS A LIVING HELL FROM DUSK TILL DAWN!!! DON'T LET PEOPLE DESTROY YOUR DREAMS! LATERS...

All felons had a choice prior to the conviction to live in a certain manner to avoid the system.  (I say stay out of the system as much as possible.)  I'm sure there were many praying grandmothers, mothers, friends, sisters, boyfriends, girlfriends, brothers, and fathers who tried to tell you to do the right thing.  Then there were some occasions where there was only a faint whisper telling you to go in another direction.*

When you're young you go through so many changes that may lead you down the wrong path, without thinking of the dire consequences later on.  Often you avail yourself to a trap.  That trap can keep you bound for a very very long time.  That's what the grown folks, we don't listen to, try to tell us when we're young.

You make your bed, and you have to lie in it.  Now you can make it hard or you can make it soft.  You decide.--saying from an older gentleman I heard growing up.

A hard head will make a soft behind.--my mama and daddy 

These are the things we ignore and listen to our peers who don't have any sense either.  WRONG MOVE! I listened to the No Limit Larry and the Morning Maddhouse this morning speaking with a gentleman from the Urban League.  They were giving job tips to felons.

The sad thing is, depending on your conviction, NO ONE WILL HIRE YOU.  So how are you going to feed yourself and your family?  In some instances you cannot even get financial aid to go to school.  See the trap?

The smart thing to do is struggle in the beginning, when you're young.  Do without.  Don't worry about what other folks have. Seek help to build with.  Yes it is hard then.  But it is better to take advantage of your youth and deal with the hardships, than to create families that have to deal with your hardships later on.

That means if you have to walk to a job because you don't have a car...WALK! It is better than walking through cell blocks and having grown men plotting on your booty! (Oh...you think that's an exaggeration? Nope! Watch this video: Fleece Johnson)

THERE IS HELP

I have done expunctions for people to clear their records of past convictions before.  There are legal requirements that each state employs in order for this to occur.  Some depend on whether or not it was your first and only felony, others on whether or not the conviction happened before you turned 18.

In one instance, the client could not find housing for herself and her family due to a conviction that happened fifteen years prior.  How horrible is that?  People don't realize you can get a felony for something that seems innocuous, like giving a friend a hookup at the store where you work.  Didn't know that did you?

There is assistance for ex-offenders.  Check out this article: http://www.stateline.org/live/ViewPage.action?siteNodeId=136&languageId=1&contentId=14894

*This does not apply to those who were wrongly convicted! I know for certain there are many who did nothing other than being a minority or poor, to end up with a felony conviction.