Convicted Felons and Employment

Believe it or not, this is a question which is more common than some would like to believe. Should a convicted felon be allowed the job opportunities and social status as a person with a clean record? It has been very difficult to answer this question in a sense of boiling it down to one straight answer. I myself, would definitely want to know if I was hiring the right person if it were my company. I have openly discussed this question with many people and my conclusion is this:

We all make mistakes, first of all. I do mean all of us, even the ones who have been fortunate enough to not get busted yet. If you are one of the ones who have not been caught for anything than maybe you should consider stopping whatever it is that could get you in serious trouble. There is nothing more frusrating than that question on your job application: Have you ever been convicted of a felony? To even answer that question is a sign of declining opportunity, especially when the answer is yes. But I would like to propose to the employer and the convicted to consider my opinion of it.

The employer: You have every right to not only keep your business safe but to keep other employees safe as well. I am not suggesting that you hire every person who comes in displaced, but maybe you could just try one person as a social experiment. I think a person who has made a mistake which does not include murder, or abuse of children or the elderly should be given another chance. I do believe that in many cases, that non violent felon who has been turned away from every job he/she applies for, would be so grateful that one person gave them a chance to become a productive member of society that they would steer away from trouble. The problem is, the institutions that be say that they are rehabilitating these people when all they are doing is starting up the engine and telling them they can’t drive. So here they are, revved up and ready to prove it to themselves and to others that they are no longer a threat to society but society says NO WAY! I say that if a guy comes in and tells an employer the truth and shows that employer respect and proof of his rehabilitation(programs, prison employment, G.E.D.) than he should be given a chance. I do not believe that people who have made mistakes which does not include physical harm to another individual should be punished for life. I do not believe that they should starve or not be able to take care of their children over a past bad decision. When you take away a person’s basic right to provide food, nurishment or shelter for themselves I honestly believe you are taking that person’s decision away to become productive. The typical thinking of this man may be:’Society won’t let me eat but I’m going to eat anyway’… anyway, anyhow. It is usually that ‘anyhow’ that lands that person back in jail to ‘rehabilitate’ again.