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26 years ago I was convicted (plead guilty) to a non violent felony for cultivating, possession (1.25 lbs) and sale of cannibis. I was given credit for time served in jail (9 months) and did 15 more months in state prison followed by 3 years of parole, the first year being intense parole (unannounced visits to my apartment at all hours and visits to my job to check up on me). I did my time and left it at that. I still have the record but I have managed to do decently for myself despite it. Largely because I got it before the internet age and it was harder for anybody to find it. I have not been in any trouble since except for a few speeding tickets.
With the liberalization of marijuana laws in several states (now legal for use in 2) and attitudes about the "war on drugs" on the wane, I am wondering if it would be worth it to apply for a pardon. We now have a Democratic Governor in Illinois and he seems fairly liberal but it would be a gamble because, if I don't get the pardon, the record of me applying for it will certainly probably show up on Google even though my conviction and record do not. I don't really want that. If I want to get involved with my granddaughter at school or something, I don't want a google search showing that I am a convicted felon. And, I can live with the status quo but I would like to not have a felony conviction anymore.
Do you think I should apply? If I do apply, I have been told by a friend that they can deny it, give me a full pardon or give me a "commutation adjustment" and change it to a misdomeanor possession. Is that true?
I don't know if you have the right to vote for that where ever you are. If you were in NH you would not nor would you be able to buy a legal gun.
2 years time and 22? since is a long time to think things over.
Since there was no violence in your crime I would personally forgive you, and if it were up to me restore every right you should have, but it is not up to me.
If there was a bit of violence in this crime i would condemn you to 40 Hells, and be honored to lead you straight there.
I have no idea about your state's laws and so could not offer any valid opinion.
What good is a pardon? Would it really remove the written record?
Maybe you could look into getting the records expunged, with or with out a pardon, which may, I don't KNOW, remove all written records?
I would assume to expunged would incur a fee, and that fee might not be very cheap..
Just another idea and who I feel about your crime.
You see, a part of me wonders about man's silly things. Notions of what is good, bad and what has or hasn't been paid for.
So a question i get stuck on is that if a crime has been paid in time, and the criminal has been released, that the crime should have been paid in full.
Personally I don't like parole a bit. You either do the time or you don't do any. No early release either.
BUT once the crime is stated paid in full then I think every other right should be reinstated.
I would raise bloody hell over a violent offender getting gun rights back, but even then i would be WRONG by my own standards.
I can vote but I cannot own or possess a firearm of any kind. Cannot even be in my house. I am not trying to get a firearm. A pardon would remove the conviction and all records of it. It would be as though it never happened. I did not ever do any violent crimes. My priors to that were deposit account fraud which I was on probation for at the time I got into trouble over the cannibis which is why I was denied bond and given time to serve. Before that, at 17, I had a felony charge of fleeing and eluding the police and that was reduced to a misdomeanor reckless driving charge and a $1000 fine and loss of my license for a year. I have not been in any trouble since and had a pretty decent life but when you have grandkids showing up, you think about such things. I was really a stupid ass when I was a kid. I guess the only good thing that came out of it was that I raised my kids. My dad left when I was 8. While he was still somewhat involved in our lives, he moved to Dallas Texas and we rarely heard from or saw him.
I know about dad's leaving. I was 5.5 years when mine did. As a wee lad I went there on weekends, but he was into rebuilding his life, new wife more kids, and I was pretty much left to entertain myself with that 22 he gave me on my 6th. That place was remote. The place i was born,that Dad built was more remote. I am a first grad drop out really. I was born lefthanded, in school when i was still 4 to turn 5 in late Nov, that teacher had suffered polio on her left side so i was put in the trash can at the head of class, just for being lefty and she smacked my hand till X-mass vacation when I just plain dropped out.
Across the street from home was a old dirt lane that went to a concrete dynamite shack and the door was rusted open. I went there to play alone every day till sometime in March. I would go out and wait for the bus and leave before it got came and return home when it came back
The school called in March sometime and my mother swore I had been in school all that time
I am still probably more like a small wild animal than human really. I sure am set in my ways. When my path is blocked i just find another way.
I am not righty either, just angry over wasted resources and upset from big Govt squandering, well past Obama.
Not sure you and i will get along, but I might try.
I will be 61 somewhat later this month.... I am very fit for my age other than a very bad back. I am serious about trying to make SSI PAY for it because i sure can't. It is a life sentence to be convicted of pre-existing condition getting hurt at work.
That came in 87 I think I paid that price by now.....
Depends if you have themaney ebcause you'l need a lawyer who can acess the documents in your case.Just because the law has changed doesn't mean you'll get one tho.
I can vote but I cannot own or possess a firearm of any kind. Cannot even be in my house. I am not trying to get a firearm. A pardon would remove the conviction and all records of it. It would be as though it never happened. I did not ever do any violent crimes. My priors to that were deposit account fraud which I was on probation for at the time I got into trouble over the cannibis which is why I was denied bond and given time to serve. Before that, at 17, I had a felony charge of fleeing and eluding the police and that was reduced to a misdomeanor reckless driving charge and a $1000 fine and loss of my license for a year. I have not been in any trouble since and had a pretty decent life but when you have grandkids showing up, you think about such things. I was really a stupid ass when I was a kid. I guess the only good thing that came out of it was that I raised my kids. My dad left when I was 8. While he was still somewhat involved in our lives, he moved to Dallas Texas and we rarely heard from or saw him.
A few points here. First off, I wouldn't go around an internet board asking quesions for such an obvious huge issue to you. I'd plunk down the 100 bucks or whatever, and have a consultation with a real attorney, which specializes in such issues. The consultation will be worth its weight in gold and you won't get "I heard from an uncle, 40 yrs ago, twice removed, he said too..." You need facts. Cold hard real facts. Not anything else.
Second, a pardon is NOT going to erease the conviction. The conviction will never go away. It will always be there "lurking" in the background somewhere. As you said, it doesn't come up now, however IT IS in some computer data base, somewhere. What it will let you do is if asked: "Have you ever been convicted of a felony?" You can legally say, "No." You can also fill out all those little check boxes and legally say "no," when the school starts asking you for information, when you want to attend functions with your granddaughter.
There are some other benefits: Such as a prior felony conviction not being used against you in the future and, as you already said, purchasing of a firearm, etc.
Again, however you really need to consult with a qualified attorney about this matter.
Get a lawyer you can get a pardon and have it expunged from your record.
You will not have to tell anyone of the conviction and it will not show up on a background cheek.
This will also restore your rights.
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really. I was born lefthanded, in school when i was still 4 to turn 5 in late Nov, that teacher had suffered polio on her left side so i was put in the trash can at the head of class, just for being lefty and she smacked my hand till X-mass vacation when I just plain dropped out.