The Convicted (The Hard Times of Felons After Serving Hard Time. )

The prison system and correctional facilities were designed to rehabilitate and correct the behaviors of the convicted. Many released felons find themselves still facing a hard time after serving their debt to society.

The number of convicted felons in the United States has greatly increased since 2017. Convicted Felons make up eight percent of the United States population.

Many felons face more obstacles after being released. The simple tasks of finding a job, a place to live and voting become more difficult and hindering to the individual. Many felons are stripped from there common rights, making it even harder for them to survive.

There are three types of felonies. Class A is the most serious type of felony. Class A includes murder, rape, kidnapping in the first degree and other crimes may vary depending on the state a person commits the crime. A Class B Felony is a serious crime but may not be labeled as violent. Class B felonies include possession of an illegal product, gambling fraud, man slaughter and others depending on the state the crime was committed. A class C felony includes driving under the influence and shop lifting, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

A few individuals were able to speak about the effects of a felon from many different view points.

Donna Wheeler of Los Angeles, California has worked with the Los Angeles Police Department for over 25 years. She served the majority of her years as detective and is now the Coordinator for property crimes. Wheeler has witnessed the difficulties that certain convicted felons have faced upon being released.

“I think one of the main things is making sure that these people come back to society with as many resources as possible,” stated Wheeler. “I believe that more people should educate themselves on the law and the criminal justice system because once you become a part of that system it’s hard to break away,” she finished. “I encourage people all the time about learning their rights. It’s very important. Wheeler hopes that there will be many new programs to help rehabilitated criminals to get back on their feet and back to civilization.

Michael Shaw is a correctional officer for the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Departmentfor over 10 years. As a correctional officer he has also witnessed the difficult outcomes of the justice system and how it has caused difficulties for people to move forward.

“The best advice I can give to someone after being released is to work as hard as possible and relocate your focus. Get yourself out of a comfort system and start over,” said Shaw. He says that the city of Charlotte has created new programs to help train and educate inmates for jobs once they have completed their sentence. “There are many trades schools designed for the inmates because the list of employers whom will hire a convicted felon is continuing to grow.”

He also expressed his concern with how the lack of financial assistance and resources can cause one to have repeated behaviors. “It becomes a repeated cycle, and people are getting discouraged when the jobs are telling them no because of their back ground.”

Shaw is working in hopes to continue to encourage those released felons to better themselves by staying informed and connected with many community leaders with programs assisted to help them transition to society.

In 2016 6 million Americans were prohibited from voting due to laws that disfranchise citizens who have convicted felony charges. It has become problematic to many people. Fortunately some states are reconsidering the disenfranchisement policies because of its wide effect. According to an article on the brennancenter.org, Iowa and Kentucky are the two states that impose life time disenfranchisement for anyone with felony convictions.

Edward J. Arnold is a 25 year old convicted felon. He resides in Greenville, SC and is currently on probation for his charges. Arnold discussed the challenges of adapting back society after his release.

Arnold was convicted in January 2017 for conspiracy to obtain to violate. He was convicted under non-violent charges and sentenced to five years. With this being his first ever offense he served 17 months between correctional institutions. He was released on parole in 2018.

“Prior to my conviction I didn’t have anything on my record. Not even a parking ticket,” Arnold said. “I take full responsibility and accountability for what I did, but now I feel as if things are harder for me to adjust to,” he said.

Arnold served his sentence at three facilities while incarcerated: Kirkland Correctional,Goodman Correctional and Tyger River Correctional. Since Arnold had a non-violent offense and this was his first charge, he was eligible for parole. Not many inmates are granted this type of leniency. Many inmates also serve a longer sentence in prison which makes it more difficult to adapt to society after being released.

Arnold believes that there should be more programs like Liveacy Correctional Institution. This is a transitional program that inmates attend months before being released. This program assigns the person to a job to work to make money to use once they are released. Although this is helpful with finding work, there are many inmates who lack the basics of education to maintain in the society or find work.

“I’m not saying that they should be just thrown out there with no supervision. I’m not saying that at all,” Arnold stated. “What I am saying is there needs to be a slow transitional program for those inmates to get adjusted and prepared for what’s next,” he finished.

Unlike many released inmates, Arnold has been able to overcome many hardships with the support of friends and family. Although he has this reliable support from family and friends, he still faces the unknown intentions of others in the work field. Arnold is facing a situation with his current employer. He doesn’t know the status of his employment status due to his criminal background.

“I hate getting my hopes up. I know what I’ve done and I’m willing to face all consequences,” Arnold says. “There are times where I get a sense of false hope.

Arnold is a part of a mentoring program for young men in his local community. He also works at a local restaurant part time. He works in hopes of being able to go back and complete college one day.

According to an article from the sentencingproject.org, there are 11 states that restrict the voting rights even after a person has served their sentence and is no longer on probation: Alabama, Arizona, Delaware, Florida, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Nebraska, Tennessee, Virginia and Wyoming.

In the state of South Carolina voters can have their rights restored upon completion of their sentence including prison, parole and probation. Some states don’t grant back the right to vote regardless of completing the rehabilitation programs.

David Gibson, 35, is a truck driver. He was convicted of first- degree animal cruelty in Washington in 2016. He is now registered as a class C felon. He has recently relocated back to Greenville, South Carolina. Gibson wanted to talk about his daily struggles.

“The number one issue for me is housing,” Gibson explained. Since being released in 2017, Gibson has been living with family and friends. “I came back to Greenville because I have family here,” said Gibson. “Finding a job is the second hardest for me.” Since returning to South Carolina, Gibson has been trying to manage life as a single father to his 11 year-old son. There are few employers who will hire felons. Although there is a small percentage of employers that will hire a felon, that list is very limited and grows gradually.

Jamiah Thompson continues to move forward since being released from prison.

Jamiah Thompson 26, is also a convicted felon. In 2013 he was charged with first degree burglary, grand theft and kidnapping. He sentenced to three and a half years day to day. Thompson was released in 2017, and since then he has many complications in maintaining his daily life. “Since I got out I’ve had a hard time keeping relationships with others,” Thompson said. “It’s also hard battling the person that I used to be knowing that I’m trying to better myself.”

With the support of family and friends Jamiah has been able to find a place to live and plans to finish his college education. “I’m grateful I was able to find a job that was willing to hire me,” he said. “It’s like they are taking a chance with me and I get a chance to redeem myself,” he finished. Thompson is currently working on his music career and is creating a mentor group “From Pain to Purpose.” He works in hoping to be a voice of guidance to those in need.

Darren Haley is attorney in Greenville, SC. After many years of being a lawyer, he has witnessed the hard times for the convicted individuals. “Depending on the length of sentence, I believe the biggest challenge would be acclimating back to a free world,” said Haley. Haley has defended more than 30 people in the states of South Carolina and Virginia. Haley makes his main focus is to make sure that every one he works with knows the rights in a court of law.

“The slightest misunderstanding can alter your whole life. Most people don’t know the difference words can make in a misdemeanor or a felony charge,” Haley finished. Darren Haley discussed some of the possible outcomes of living as a felon.

Darren Haley has seen both perspectives of the trying times of convicted individuals.

“One of the best decisions that I’ve made was hiring a released felon. This man has shown me that he is dependable and knows this line of work,” Haley said.

The prison system has many obstacles that one has to go through even after serving times. Even after being released, a person still has to monitor their rules of parole and honor their probation. Probation comes with fees that have to be paid and failure to pay can cost a person more jail time.

There are many technicalities against a felon as they try to correct their lives and adapt back to society. Some face the circumstances of being away from their loved ones as a risk of violating probation. According to an article in the Sentencingproject.org the

collateral consequences vary from common rights to disqualifications of common benefits. With the rate of mass incarceration on the rise these issues may become more common and harder to work through.