You mean occupational discrimination or something else? Occupational discrimination against convicted felons is completely just because it's fair that employers don't want to hire criminals. Anyways, further social and occupational discrimination is implied when someone commits a crime.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Replace 'convicted felons' and 'criminals' with any race or religion. It makes your argument sound extremely prejudiced. It's not just in the slightest.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

There's a difference between choosing to do something illegal, and being born a certain ethnicity

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Yeah I know, but as far as the law is concerned, discrimination is discrimination. Not saying that I would particularly comfortable hiring a convict, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't get a second chance. People make mistakes. And criminal doesn't neccessarily mean someone who murdered 4 people. It could be some kid who got caught pirating some music or had some pot on them.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

When I saw that Favvkes made this, I thought it said "felines."

by Anonymous 12 years ago

I think it is just in certain situations. For example, if a felon who was convicted of a crime against children applied for a job working with children, it's not wrong not to hire him. Yes, he paid for his crime, but he still did it. In cases like that, it would be wrong to hire him because the employer has an obligation to look out for the safety of the people the felon would be working with.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Absolutely true. However, if the crime was heinous enough for that person to be discriminated against because of it, they deserve it. Your punishment was not only to serve jail time, but to live with that mistake on your shoulders for the rest of life. In the end, you have to accept the consequences of your actions. But just so people don't misunderstand, I'm talking about discrimination against a person specifically for their crime, not the sole fact that they served jail time. Obviously crimes differ in severity, and that's also why I purposely referred to it as a heinous crime.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Ex prisoners failing to find work leads to a high chance of recidivism. Giving an ex-prisoner a job greatly reduces the chance of them offending again. Should a bank robber get a job at bank? No. But released prisoners need work or else they'll turn back to crime to make money.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

I NW'd this because of the phrasing. Convicted felons that have already paid for their crimes. I don't like that. Just because they've done their time doesn't mean their slate gets wiped clean. Already paid for their crimes sounds like their guilt is washed away by jail time. Just because someone has been to jail for the crime they committed doesn't mean everything is square again. That being said, I don't think first time offenders should be discriminated against, but if someone has been to jail more than once I think it's perfectly fair to deny them a job (or whatever the case may be). After the first time, I no longer consider it a mistake, it's a choice. If they blow their second chance, I wouldn't give them a third.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Depends what they did. I certainly wouldn't want to hire a pedophile or rapist or someone who did something realllllllllly bad.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

I don't know about the rest of you, but I know someone who made a stupid decision when they were 18. They were convicted, served a year in jail, were heavily fined, and had to serve 6 years probation once they got out of jail. I now am forced to watch as this person struggles to find jobs, internships, even a place to live because of what he did in his past. He's 23 now. He's in his 3rd year of college. He hired a lawyer to get off probation early, and his parole officer vouched for his character. He is extremely smart and driven, yet, despite all this good and the changes he's made, he is still discriminated against just because he has to check "yes" to "Have you ever been convicted of a felony?" He is extremely trustworthy and responsible. He is absolutely deserving, but people are unwilling to give him a chance. They just write him off, and at times it makes him feel worthless and like there's no point trying to be an active member of society because society won't let him. He wants to and can do great things and help many people, but he is blocked every step of the way. If you all knew an ex-con like this, you would see how heartbreaking it is that they are discriminated against

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Just out of curiosity, what did he do?

by Anonymous 12 years ago