Effects of a Felony Conviction

Criminal offenses in the United States are classified as either felonies or misdemeanors; felonies are more serious than misdemeanors. Some crimes that are usually considered felonies are financial crimes, drug offenses, DUI offenses, violent crimes such as murder, rape, or assault using a weapon, robbery, and battery. Examples of drug offenses that are considered felonies include illegal drug sales, possession of large amounts of drugs, selling drugs to minors, and illegal use of drugs.

Felony Convictions and Punishments

Committing any of the above mentioned crimes can lead to a felony conviction for an offender. The laws regarding felony convictions and their punishments vary from state to state. Felony convictions are usually accompanied by jail sentences, depending on the severity of the crime. Apart from a jail sentence, those convicted of felonies may also be sentenced to treatment in rehabilitation centers or other correctional institutions, probation, fines, loss of legal rights, and loss of other privileges, such as driver’s license.

The punishments that accompany felonies also depend on the state. For example, a conviction of fornication and adultery in Florida is punishable by a fine of up to $500 and/or a jail sentence of six months. Alcohol-related crimes such as DUI, death or injury caused due to DUI, and sale or supply of alcohol to minors are punishable depending on whether or not the offender has been previously convicted of the same crime. The punishment for a less severe crime may be a fine of $250-$500 and suspension of driver’s license for about 12 months, while the punishment for a more severe crime can be a sentence of 15 years in the penitentiary and a fine of up to $10,000.

For detailed information regarding the various felony convictions and their corresponding punishments in the state of Florida, visit http://www.crimeandpunishment.net/FL/http://www.peoplepublicrecords.org/chart.html. To obtain information about felony conviction sentences in various other states, visit the links below.

Ohio: http://www.drc.ohio.gov/OffenderSearch/PDFs/FelonySentencingChart.pdf
North Carolina: http://www.nccourts.org/Courts/CRS/Councils/spac/Documents/2003felonyoffenseclassificationlist.pdf

Similar information about the laws governing felony convictions in each state can be obtained by visiting the official websites of the law enforcement agencies of those states.

Expunging Felony Records

Each state maintains its own criminal records, which include the records of felony convictions. They contain information about why the offender was arrested, whether the charges against him or her were proved to be correct, and the sentence that he or she had to serve. These records also contain information about the inmate population of the state's correctional institutions.

Background checks conducted by employers or individuals often reveal such records, which can harm the offender’s employment opportunities. If an individual convicted of a felony has served his or her sentence and is seeking new employment, the record can be expunged. Felony expunging laws are, once again, varied from state to state. A few states do not allow expunging of felony records at all, and federal law in the US does not permit federal felonies to be expunged.