Crimes usually fall into one of two categories: as simple or aggravated offences: misdemeanors or felonies. Misdemeanors on the other hand are minor offenses which entail a maximum punishment of not more than one year imprisonment. They include more serious offenders which are crimes that attract sentences of more than one year imprisonment and up to a lifetime imprisonment. Some examples of felonies consist of murder, sexual assault as well as kidnapping but felony does not necessarily imply violence. For instance, forgery, theft, and fraud can attract a felony sentence depending on the amount of money involved, the position of the victim and defense lawyer’s form of persuasion.
What Are the Penalties for Felonies?
Possible jail terms for felonies vary from one year up to life imprisonment and in some states in the USA and in the federal system, a penalty of death (also called capital punishment) is allowed. In most cases, the longer the sentence that the offender receives, the bigger the crime they committed. However, it is possible to have other conditions which influence the duration of the term, for example, the previous criminal record.
A felon releases his or her term in a state or federal penitentiary, and a misdemeanant releases her or his term in a local lock-up. However, a judge can order a felon to serve a particular number of months or years of prison term which is less than the prescribed sentence in jail normally as a condition for probation. The opposite, however, isn’t true—a judge cannot order a person convicted of a misdemeanor to serve a sentence in prison.
Costs of a Felony Conviction: Paying the Consequences: Fines, Fees, and Restitution
Apart from the possibility of being deprived of one’s liberty, a felony arrest can be dear, very expensive. Most crimes, for one to be convicted, he/she has to pay fines which are state and or local government income. A judge usually orders a felon to also pay restitution, which is money paid to victim of a crime, or to a state restitution fund in order to aid crime victims to pay for losses or expenses in connection with the commission of the particular crime.
The offender is usually required to pay the supervision costs for the probation officers and anything else, which may be needed to complete the probation such as fees for drug or alcohol tests, costs of use of the electronic device among others. And those felonies I’m not yet finished, felonies may come with court fees, surcharges to.
Penalties That Follow One after Getting a Felony Conviction
When a person has been imprisoned for a felony then the person will have a criminal record; this has a long-term effect on a person’s life since they can be hindered in areas such as getting a job, in immigration or getting a home, and even in civil rights. These are known as “collateral consequences.”
Felony Record– The State law may also limit those persons who have been convicted of some crimes from practicing any profession or receiving any license in the state like a general contractor or cosmetology license. A felony conviction also impinges on housing – one can longer be a candidate for federal housing –an individual and the family. Persons convicted of sexual offenses undergo some of the most severe limitations as to where they can reside; in addition, they are almost always required to register as a sex offender in every place they live or intend to visit as well. Civil liberties of the felons are limited in some states, where their rights to vote, to be jurors or owners of firearms are canceled. A felony conviction may also impact the immigration status of a person and his/her possibility to stay in the United States.
Expungement– Criminal record might somehow be detrimental and this is where the expungement laws of a state may be of assistance. The laws of expungement enable a former criminal to write (apply) to wipe or even conceal criminal data from accessing by the public. Generally, there are certain requirements a person is expected to fulfill, the most of which include; the person must first of all complete the felony amount without involving in any criminal activities for a given period before an expungement is considered.