Loosen the Shackles: Experiences of a Felon Trying to Make it in the World

If your dignity and humanity have been worn down under the enormous pressure that comes with being blacklisted by a criminal history, I hope that my experiences can help relieve some of your pain.  The following are pointers just what I’ve picked up along the way in my 8 year long battle to be fully integrated back into society, my struggle continues. Some folks are more aware of their rights than others so this is a comprehensive bullet list of instructions, policies, and experiences that might be helpful to those with criminal histories who live in Georgia and whose crimes were committed in this state. Jobs with Justice and the Campaign to End Mass Incarceration are working on the problems we face. I grouped these into experiences, I hope you find them helpful.

RECORD EXPUNGEMENT

Some states allow convictions to be expunged. If you were arrested in other states, check with them to determine if convictions can be removed from your record.  What does it mean to have a record expunged? This means that most people will not be able to see that you were ever arrested, once an expungement process is complete.There are circumstances that these arrests can be seen, if one is applying to work with children, teaching or some other sensitive position. My experience has been however, that once I have had a record expunged it cannot be seen at the state level. The Federal level is a different matter altogether. After having at least 6 charges expunged, I pulled my federal file to find all of them looking back at me. When I asked the FBI why this is, it turns out Georgia is a state that does not send on information to the federal government regarding expungments or removal of charges from records. The state makes sure to notify the Feds that you have been arrested, but they do not notify them of expungements.  Very few states have this policy, but Georgia is one of them, they keep all your arrest info on file and that can be viewed by you. The state maintains that federal file information can only be viewed by you, authorized by a set of fingerprints. A problem occurs when a potential employer requests your fingerprints so that they can obtain this federal file. The Georgia Criminal Information Center (GCIC) claim that employers who submit your fingerprints see different information that you would see yourself. This makes me raise an eyebrow. Now, if you are applying to work with children. Your arrests are likely to pop back up. But most retail stores, non-government jobs, and many others may not see those expunged records from neither your state recor  nor your federal.  You can challenge your federal record. Felons from the United States are generally not permitted to enter the United  Kingdom or Canada. You must file for expungement and pardon in Canada and withstand lengthy Visa application requirements to have a chance at entering the UK. But that is probably the least of most of your worries.

In Georgia, if you have pled first offenders or been convicted of a crime, charges are not supposed to be expungable. However, there may be ways to seal your records, this requires an attorney. If you have found a way to pay a lawyer and they say there is nothing they can do, call some others. Some lawyers are aware of how to navigate this process and others do not. The first step in the process if you’ve been convicted on any level, is to obtain a pardon. This does not necessarily require a lawyer. Contact the board of pardons and paroles. Their website says that you have to go without a new charge for 5 years , but if you have gone a few years without a charge, go ahead and apply. You’ll see that if you can find a potential employer to write a letter stating that they need you to be granted this pardon in order to employ you, that qualifies you for a pardon. This is any potential employer, wink wink.

There are some fun little knots and twists our police and court officials like to tangle us up in. One I’ve been having fun with is this idea of a bond forfeiture. I am currently working on removing this from my record and it is not going softly into that dark night. Basically, I had a failure to appear for a court date and was told I could come pay that off at the court house and the warrant would be removed. Well, I got into a car accident on the way, perfect. They threw me in a cage, not a jail cell, a cage. From that cage they said if I could come up with 90 dollars, I could be released. I called a friend  who paid the 90 dollars and I was released. Six years later this jurisdiction maintains that mark on my record is non-expungeable. This bond forfetuire business seems to mean that  I have been locked up and If I want to leave, I have to plead guilty. Now, I am no expert on the constitution, but I’m pretty sure that’s probably  most likely 'super-unconstitutional' to force someone that's locked in a cage to plead guilty  to a charge without counsel.

In summary, basically, if you have a dismissal, you can expunge it, anything else is questionable. The process is very simple. You go to the jail in the jurisdiction where you were arrested, go to the window and ask for an expungement request form. This may cost you around 20 dollars. Some jails will make you have a certified copy of your disposition; you get this from the court house that you appeared in. Many counties do not require that.  The paperwork is sent, or you are asked to take it, to the District Attorney’s office. They take 4 weeks to 12 months to look at your paperwork and determine whether or not you qualify for an expungement. I always try to get the ladies at the window to attach some letters of recommendation. Get some folks to say that you’re doing great and attach that to your request, it can’t hurt.   You can pull your record in a year and see what happened. If they denied you, now you’ll have to start the debate. I’ve gone as far as to call commissioners, mayors, and representatives to complain. If you’re not granted the expungement, call every chance you get exclaiming how unjust the system is. Obviously this doesn’t always work, but it makes me feel better sometimes. Channel that anger folks.  I’m currently in this process, trying to knock a charge off by raising enough stink with city officials, I hope I can make their life just slightly as miserable as mine.  

VOTING

You can get your right to vote back once you complete supervision. This process requires a form. Call your probation officer or last parole officer, they have the paperwork. Do not forget to submit a certified copy of your sentence termination. You get this paperwork from the clerk’s office in the courthouse where you were sentenced. You must submit that if you want your right to vote to be restored. The form is sometimes combined with a request to have your gun rights restored. I went ahead and checked the box to NOT try and get my gun rights restored. I wanted my voting rights restored in time for the 2008 election, I wasn’t taking any chances. Now I’m a socialist and am more likely to vote for Scooby Doo, but who knew. Go ahead and shoot for the gun and voting at the same time, no pun. I feared that I wouldn’t qualify for the gun and they would deny both, since they were applied for at the same time. These guys are sneaky, don’t trust them. This process took me nearly 8 months because I didn’t submit that certified copy of my probation termination. Don’t do that! I found myself sitting in the voter registration office the day before elections waiting, and waiting, and waiting for them to check, check, check, and quadruple check my qualifications. Call a local probation office and ask for this paperwork.

FEDERAL AID AND SCHOOL

                The University System has fun new policies of requiring you to answer questions about your criminal history on their applications. I answered honestly at one school and they held my application up so long that I missed the entire semester. I had to write a letter to the President’s Office of the University, go to the Dean of Students 40 times, and make a bazillion calls to the Board of Regents before I got admitted, but they stripped me of my ability to live in campus housing for 2 years, basitds. So, I just applied to another school and lied saying that my attorney advised me to answer, "No" to this question.  I was admitted and in classes that week. Now you will be asked these questions when you go for financial aid, if your charges were drug related, be prepared. Too bad you couldn’t have just stabbed someone so you could go to school. Oh wait, I did that too, well luckily If i've stabbed someone, i can still get a CDL and go to school. These laws are kooky and crazy. so, if you do have drug charges, your finanical aid is at risk. It works something like this: One strike, you have to wait a year or show you have completed a rehabilitation program. Two strikes, something similar, then with three strikes you could be out. This never made sense to me, some users take longer than others to quit. This is a medical condition that is treated in hospitals and should not be criminalized. Even worse they strip you of the chance to do something better with yourself through school and they leave you with pretty much the same options you had before the last time you were arrested. These policies change with the wind, so just keep checking on these. Most financial aid offices know the latest. Just make sure you get answers from at least 3 people, if their answers are all different, keep calling, don’t give up. You can always call the FAFSA office. The organization that is partially responsible for determining who gets funding and who does not.

APPLYING FOR A JOB

I went through an anti-climactic program called the Second Chance Program delivered by the Georgia Department of Labor. They put me through a resume writing workshop and a skill assessment test then referred me to a prison release letter shop machine job.  This was a major step up from my car washing gig. I kept telling them that it wasn’t my resume that kept me from getting hired, it’s the 12 pages of character assassination they’re looking at that prevents me from being hired, duh. Anyway,  I got the job, but it took me years to get my background cleaned up enough and more time for me to learn how to fill out an application and interview, all of which I’ll describe for you. In this particular job I  worked right alongside the undocumented for dirt pay. But, I did my job with a smile and when that job couldn’t keep paying me, they referred me to another factory position where I began working on quality control, another step up. So basically, the program itself didn’t get me too far, but my vigilance and performance on the job did. I’m just saying this to encourage you to hang on. I know it’s so hard. I worked for a major communication company and had 5 years of college prior to my arrests, I was capable of much more, but no one wanted me.

It really didn’t hurt to get my resume charged up and my skill set down. Some of us have no work experience particularly if we had been caught up in illegal activity for our survival for much of our lives. Every one of us have survived on the streets and that leads me to believe that you’ve got game, so use it to your advantage on the resume or application. Turn things you’ve done into a positive.  If you must, you can try to think of any work you may have done that was legit. For example, if you held a ladder a few times for your uncle’s roofing business, put a job title like Contractor Support Team Leader.  If you picked up a pizza for your friends, that could be Food Service Management. Just whatever you decide to put down, be sure to be able to back it up if someone asked you about it. Your best bet is to do volunteer work. For instance with the homeless shelter, hell maybe we lived in the homeless shelter, surely you brought a salt shaker to the table, put it down, work with the homeless.  Use the creativity you have. Soon, once you get that first job, you’ll start getting some really good work experience to put down. Just stay involved in your community, this always looks good anyway.

It was suggested to me if you’re applying for a job that requires you to fill out an application, leave that question regarding your criminal history blank if you can. Of course, if you’re forced to answer the question on a computer based application, do what you think. I know I’m always petrified that I’ll be arrested for saying, “no” to that question.

So this Second Chance Program did not get the job for me, I still had to interview. I was given a list of things to say in an interview. I have tried to retrieve this packet since then for friends who could have used it, but I haven’t found it again. Surely tips concerning going through a job interview with a record can be found online. I’ll describe what I did and honestly, I got most jobs that I went for, but it helps that I am a white female, I’m positive this improved my chances.  There’s a world of difference between being a black male or female than a white female especially an attractive one.  Although it’s demeaning, and I’d rather eat vomit than smile at this nasty interviewing manager, I’ve been known to smile and twirl my hair for the slight chance that it might get them to overlook my record and give me the job because I had to feed my daughter. Seeing how you can’t get food stamps, section 8, or a commercial drivers’ license with a criminal history, we really need a job, it is life or death. 

So, I practiced this interviewing method with stuffed animals at home, yes I just said that out loud.  You should go along with the interview and put your best foot forward. If you can get your hands on a suit, do it up. There’s no such thing as under dressing for an interview when you’re a felon. When you feel that the interview is nearing an end, you’ll know when the time is right say, “Out of respect for this company and my desire to work here, there are some things about me I need to share with you.” Then, try to explain your situation in 3 minutes. It is best if you can expunge everything you can first, so you don’t have to go into all that. Either way, be aware of your charges and the dates you were arrested or convicted. Be clear that you have completed all your supervision if you have and be able to quickly list them. Also, make them sound as good as you possibly can. For example, I use terms like possession of a controlled substance instead of crack. Once you’ve listed the charges, go briefly into how you hurt people, “Yes, what I did was wrong and I caused harm to my family and my community.”  Even though we may feel we were screwed, and we probably were, just get the job.  I hope to see a day when we don’t have to crawl before anyone. BUT! Until then, next thing is to go immediately into what you’re doing now.  You want to show what a fabulous person you are. Because I know you are, you just have to find that shining star and communicate your wonderfulness to these people. Remember all the skills and experiences you came up with on your resume and explain how you are going to benefit their company. Then wait and let them talk.  Hold your chin high and if they don’t call you, it’s their loss, keep it moving.

I’ve had multiple felony convictions that have been pardoned and several dozen charges I’ve had expunged and several left I continue to work on.  I was addicted to meth for a decade. I started drugs at 20 and got clean at 30, I’m 38 and still working on cleaning up this background. I wish you the best and I Hope this helps someone.