A felon is a person who has committed a felony. Felony is a crime with elevated seriousness. In the United States, a felony is seriously judged. The federal government has designated felonies as crimes to be punished by imprisonments.
Sometimes, felons are sentenced to death as well for serious crimes. A felon also losses some of their rights.
The Lifestyle Of A Felon
The lifestyle of a felon is too tough to think. Their lifestyles are so difficult inside the prison as well as after the felony. The persuasion of a felony sticks to them for the rest of the life. The convicted felons lose the right to vote, cannot have or use a firearm, and cannot serve on a jury. They also lose their right to travel abroad, lose their parental rights. They face employee discrimination even after their imprisonment.
Sometimes the US government ceases a felon’s home or property. If a felon lives in a rental house, the landlord forces him to leave the house. Also, a felon might lose ownership of his old house after his imprisonment. Society ostracizes a felon too. No one is ready to support a felon. This time they feel very helpless.
How Can A Felon Protect Their Home?
Like everyone, a felon also has a family. Family is a very soft corner for a person. Sometimes a person has to commit crimes like stealing to provide the basic requirements of his family.
So, a felon has to protect and look after his loved ones, himself, and his home or possession like any normal person. Also, every felon has a lot of enemies. Those enemies always attempt to harm their families. So, a felon must protect his family and home.
Here is a list of actions a felon can undertake to protect their home:
1 An ordinary solution
2 Essential defense
3 Wipeout their criminal records
4 Re-establish their right to have a firearm
6 Substitute protection
Understanding The Actions
1 An Ordinary Solution
An ordinary solution to protect a felon’s home is to issue legal means of protection. This includes an extra lock, deadbolts, security alarm. This is more legal and reliable instead of keeping a gun inside a house.
Generally, a felon loses the right to possess a gun. Keeping a gun or any other weapon inside their home is so risky, and it could return them to prison. However, some circumstances allow a felon to possess a firearm like a gun.
2 Essential Defense
The essential defense is the first line of defense for a felon’s family. Generally, a firearm is banned for a felon. But there are some rare situations where the firearm is allowed to use. A felon has to meet the following criteria to use a firearm.
It includes-
- Suitable fear of death or some serious injuries.
- No careless use of themselves in the way of that threat.
- No appreciate substitute to possess a firearm.
- Logical trust that the possession would turn away the fear.
- Maintain the possession of the firearm only as long as essential to prevent the threat.
If all the above criteria are fulfilled, only then a felon can possess a firearm.
3 Wipeout Their Criminal Records
A felon can get possession again by wiping out his criminal records. A felon can erase their criminal records I’m a case of his first felony. Expungement is a procedure to erase the criminal records that are granted by the state government. Each state bears its expungement laws. Legal concealing is very important in this expungement procedure. A felon has to live from five to ten years out of prison to get eligibility for the process.
4 Re-Establish Their Right To Have A Firearm
Recently, the government has passed a law that allows a felon to re-establish their right to own a firearm. This procedure depends on the type of conviction. It matters if it was from the state government or the federal government.
Each state has its laws for re-establishing firearm rights. In case of a felony conviction comes from a federal court, the felon has to apply for getting back his rights. The federal procedure is pretty different and complex than a state’s procedure.
5 Receive Their Pardon
Finding a pardon can help a felon to restore their firearm rights. Each state has its standards for a felon to receive their pardon. A felon has to wait for at least five years after completing his statements to receive a federal pardon.
After getting eligibility, a felon may contact the federal government for his pardon. He should find legal counsel as well. The crime’s severity and the imprisonment span will be considered for restoration. To get a job after returning to society is one of the most challenging tasks for a felon. No company would like to hire a felon.
This struggle to get a job and provide resources for their family is so tough for a felon. But some companies give a felon a second chance and hire them in their company.
Here is what a felon can do:
- A felon should build a good relationship with his family, relatives, and neighbors.
- He should get involved in social and volunteer work so that society could accept them once again. Good activities can also help them to get their lost rights.
- They can attend a re-entry program that can help.
- Another important aspect is to make new friends.
6 Substitute Protection
A felon cannot have the right to own a firearm, but they can possess certain weapons. Some weapons are not considered firearms. These weapons include a knife with a blade less than four inches, a muzzleloader, a crossbow, a pellet gun. These weapons can be great options for self-defense. These alternatives of firearms generally don’t have certain prohibitions. But there are specific restrictions to own and use these weapons. Each state has its law to use each of the weapons. Felons have to obey the rules to possess these types of weapons.
What Is The Public Housing Project, And How Can It Help A Homeless Felon?
Public housing is a project that is managed and supported by the US government. Public housing is a housing venture where the government rents a property with cheaper rentals. The government, some non-profitable organizations (NGOs), or both of them manage these properties. The vision of the project is to rent homes to poor people at a very affordable price.
Private housing is the type of housing venture that is managed by a private farm. Some non-profitable organizations also handle these properties. Recently more than 1.2 million people are living in public housing. Either it is social housing, or it can be private housing.
This project is very helpful for a homeless felon whose home is ceased, or he is ostracized by society. These felons can stay in public housing. These are pretty affordable for them, and they can keep their families protected.
Being eligible for a public housing rental is not easy though. Every housing authority considers a lot of factors while granting a felon tenant. Anyway, public housing properties are way more felon-friendly than other rental properties. So, a felon must consider applying for a public housing rental property.
How To Support A Felon In Protecting Their Home And Family?
We should help and support a felon who is struggling to protect his home. This can be done by providing resources to their family and loved ones. We all know that the life of a felon is so painful and challenging. They have to struggle to get employment after their imprisonment.
Society cannot accept them, and they are not prepared to give them a second chance. But they also have a completely innocent family. So, we should stand with the felon in his struggle and offer him a second chance to prove himself.
He deserves a chance to put his painful criminal life behind and move on to his life. We should be aware that if he willing to possess a weapon for his defense, he has to follow the safety guidelines. We should help them to achieve the legal methods and get back their rights. While the felon is inside the prison, we should go and meet them.
We just have to obey proper rules and regulations to visit a felon. A felon has a stressful life inside the prison. If someone goes to visit him, his mental conditions may improve. This will help them to fight their depression and anxiety. We should motivate them to forget about their past life and inspire them to be good human beings.
Conclusion
In this article, I have tried to picture a life of a felon inside and outside the prison. It may help you to gather more knowledge about their struggle and painful life. It is our time to change our view and give them sympathy and feel their emotions too.
There are times when a felon may struggle to make ends meet. It is at this time we should remember that a felon goes through a lot. Their family struggles through this as well. It is time to change that.
