Editing Felony (section)

===Consequences===
In many parts of the United States, a felon can experience [[Loss of rights due to conviction for criminal offense|long-term legal consequences persisting after the end of their imprisonment]]. The status and designation as a "felon" is considered permanent and is not extinguished upon [[Criminal sentencing in the United States|sentence]] completion even if [[parole]], [[probation]] or [[Compassionate release|early release]] was given.<ref name="New Jim Crow">{{cite book |title=[[The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness]] |first=Michelle |last=Alexander |publisher=The New Press |year=2010}}</ref> The status can be cleared only by a successful [[appeal]] or [[Pardon|executive clemency]]. However, felons may qualify for restoration of some rights after a certain period of time has passed.<ref>{{cite web|title=Felon Voting Rights|url=http://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/felon-voting-rights.aspx|website=National Conference of State Legislatures|access-date=7 September 2017|date=29 September 2016|archive-date=7 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307104713/http://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/felon-voting-rights.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Loss and Restoration of Civil Rights & Firearms Rights|url=https://ccresourcecenter.org/resources-2/restoration-of-rights/|website=Restoration of Rights Project|publisher=Collateral Consequences Resource Center|access-date=7 September 2017|date=May 2017}}</ref>

The consequences felons experience in most states include:
* [[Disfranchisement#United States 2|Disenfranchisement]] (expressly permitted by the [[Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Fourteenth Amendment]], as noted by the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] in ''[[Richardson v. Ramirez]]'')<ref>{{cite web|title=''Richardson v. Ramirez'', 418 US 24, 94 S. Ct. 2655, 41 L. Ed. 2d 551 (1974)|url=https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=1225774961511485821|website=Google Scholar|access-date=7 September 2017}}</ref>
* Exclusion from obtaining visas or [[professional license]]s required to legally operate, making some vocations off limits to felons<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ajunwa |first1=Ifeoma |last2=Onwuachi-Willig |first2=Angela |author-link2=Angela Onwuachi-Willig |title=Combating Discrimination Against the Formerly Incarcerated in the Labor Market |journal=Northwestern University Law Review |date=2018 |volume=112 |page=1385 |url=https://scholarship.law.bu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1291&context=faculty_scholarship |access-date=11 February 2020}}</ref>
* Ineligibility to hold office in a [[labor union]] (a provision of the [[Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959|Landrum–Griffin Act of 1959]])
* Exclusion from purchase and possession of [[firearm]]s, [[ammunition]], and [[body armor]]
* Ineligibility to serve on a [[jury]]
* Ineligibility for government assistance or [[welfare spending|welfare]]
* [[Deportation|Removal (deportation)]] (if not a citizen)

Additionally, many [[job applications]] and rental applications ask about felony history (a practice forbidden in the [[Commonwealth of Massachusetts]]),<ref>{{cite web |title=Massachusetts Law about Criminal Records |url=http://www.mass.gov/courts/case-legal-res/law-lib/laws-by-subj/about/cori.html |website=Massachusetts Judicial Branch |date=August 2017 |publisher=Commonwealth of Massachusetts |access-date=7 September 2017}}</ref> and answering dishonestly can be grounds for rejection of the application or termination of employment if the lie is discovered after hire. Convicted felons may not be eligible for certain professional licenses or bonds,<ref>The U.S. federal government attempts to mitigate issues of bonding through the {{cite web|title=Federal Bonding Program|url=http://bonds4jobs.com/|publisher=U.S. Department of Labor|access-date=7 September 2017}}</ref> while hiring them may raise the cost of an employer's insurance. 

It is broadly legal to discriminate against felons in [[Employment discrimination against persons with criminal records in the United States|hiring]]<ref>{{cite web |title=EEOC Enforcement Guidance: Enforcement Guidance on the Consideration of Arrest and Conviction Records in Employment Decisions |url=https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/guidance/arrest_conviction.cfm |website=U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission |date=25 April 2012 |access-date=7 September 2017}}</ref> and leasing decisions (although a blanket ban on renting to felons may violate federal [[housing law]]),<ref>{{cite web |last1=Domonoske |first1=Camila |title=Denying Housing Over Criminal Record May Be Discrimination, Feds Say |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/04/04/472878724/denying-housing-over-criminal-record-may-be-discrimination-feds-say |website=NPR |access-date=7 September 2017 |date=4 April 2016}}</ref> so felons can face barriers to finding both jobs and housing. Moreover, a common term of parole agreements is to avoid association with other felons. In some neighborhoods with high rates of felony conviction, this creates a situation in which many felons live under a constant threat of being arrested for violating parole.<ref name="New Jim Crow"/> Banks may refuse to issue loans to felons, and a felony conviction may prevent employment in banking or finance.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Epstein |first1=Victor |title=FDIC quietly changes rule that cost thousands their jobs |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/07/25/fdic-quietly-changes-rule-that-cost-thousands-their-jobs/2588311/ |access-date=7 September 2017 |agency=USA Today |date=25 July 2013}}</ref>

In some states, restoration of those rights depends on repayment of various fees associated with the felon's arrest, processing, and prison stay, such as restitution to victims, or outstanding fines.<ref name="New Jim Crow"/>