The day I was sentenced and began probation was the same day Mike Tyson began his probation for the cocaine charges in 2007. I sat across from him in the probat

The day I was sentenced and began probation was the same day Mike Tyson began his probation for the cocaine charges in 2007. I sat across from him in the probation office. While his lawyers talked to the probation people, I made eye contact with him and realized that while we both were convicted of felonies, I was going to have a much harder time going forward than he was. (Granted, he has a pretty tough life with addiction.) If you're famous, felonies are just an inconvenience. If you're middle or upper class, felonies are a big roadblock to a career that require great perseverance and stress. If you're lower class, a felony is a death sentence unless you turn to crime. 83% of offenders who violate probation or parole were unemployed at the time, and only 13% of companies surveyed in one study said they'd even consider applications from felons. I'd wager if our attitudes about felony convictions changed, a lot of crime in the inner city would disappear in the long term. What a lot of companies don't know is that under certain circumstances, employment of felons can be a tax benefit. UPS famously uses this.