Does having a felony prevent people from bettering themselves in life?

This question seems to fall on deaf ears for those people who don’t have a felony. For those that carry the weight of being a felon, this is a question they have to ask themselves repeatedly. I mean if you had the displeasure of being told “no” for every job you apply for based on your record you would be asking yourself this question too. It seems that even after being incarcerated people are still forced to pay for their crime. You would think rehabilitated people would be allowed to join the civilized world and put their best foot forward. On the contrary, they are hardly ever given the chance.

Freedom isn’t really freedom when your a convicted felon.

My father for example, was incarcerated for 12 years of my life. He got out prison months before my high school graduation so I had the pleasure of inviting him to see me walk across the stage. We became very close during my early years of college. Our conversations were priceless. He informed me of his struggles with finding a job and how McDonald’s didn’t even want to hire him. At this time he had two small children and a wife who were barely making it by. After 3 years of searching for a job with no luck he went back to the streets. Now he is back in the position he was once in before: incarcerated.

6 in 10 released inmates are back in jail or arrested again within 3 years.

It should be expected for males or females who can’t make money to do things illegal to make their wages even if that means they have to be incarcerated. What other choice do they have? You might say they could wait it out until a job hired th. Is 3 years not a long time to wait it out? Of course it is! Waiting seems reasonable to you and I because we haven’t been in their shoes. I wouldn’t know what to do with myself if I didn’t have the means to provide for my family. There is a good chance that I would be in prison too.

Felons can’t vote, take out loans, attend college, serve in the military, or work for the government in any capacity.

These are rights given to every citizen of the United States of America except felons. I never could fully understand why a felon couldn’t vote. It seems to me that once you become a felon you are no longer a citizen of the United States. No one in power would ever say such a thing but based on the penalties felons have to face once being released, it goes without saying. Having the honor of attending college and joining the military should be a right for any person discipline enough to take advantage of those rights. If people want to put their life on the line for this country they shouldn’t be stopped. And if they want to gain an education why force them to be uneducated? America is the best place in the world to live for anyone except felons.