Permanent Punishment

Felony is a catchall word for crimes punishable by anything from more than one year's imprisonment in a penitentiary to death.* In some states, it includes everything from murder and rape to seduction under promise to marry, and even conspiracy to commit a misdemeanor. The trouble with this sweeping definition is that felons often suffer a further punishment--a loss of civil rights that is "often harsh out of all proportion to the crime committed."

Such is the charge by a special task force of the President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice. A follow-up to the presidential crime report last February, the new study, led by Under Secretary of State Nicholas deB. Katzenbach, makes it chillingly clear that prison may be only a minor episode in the bleak future of U.S. felons.

Civil Death. In some states, a life prisoner is stripped of his property, his marriage is dissolved, and his children may be adopted without his consent. No matter if he is later rehabilitated and paroled--he is "civilly dead." In many states, felony results in permanent loss of the right to vote, to sue, to enter contracts, to transfer or inherit property, to hold public office, to testify, to serve as a juror and to take civil service examinations. Even after he pays his debt to society, a felon may be barred for life from all sorts of positions requiring a license or unsullied citizenship--doctor, architect, soldier, barber, druggist, liquor salesman, union officer, veterinarian.

According to the presidential task force, "the most promising way" to cut the crime rate is to reduce recidivism by "reintegrating the offender into the community." Barring felons from jobs and civil rights is a sure recipe for more crime. Among the task force's recommendations for reform:

> The right to vote--though perhaps irrelevant during imprisonment--should be restored afterward toward the goal of "encouraging convicted persons to participate in society."

> Public office should be denied only to those clearly unfit to serve--for example, an ex-official convicted of taking bribes. "It is rarely necessary to provide for automatic disqualification to protect society."

> Jury service is best handled by reliance on "the powers given both parties to challenge jurors" on their qualifications in a particular case. In addition, "no conviction should make a person incompetent to testify. Instead, any convictions particularly relevant to credibility should be admissible to impeach the witness."

> Prisoners should be allowed to sue to prevent "irreparable damage" in the years before their release. Ex-felons should regain property rights, "since such rights may be essential in order to live a normal life in the community."

> Job licensing for ex-offenders needs a "thorough overhaul." A dangerous driver is obviously unfit for a driver's license; a stickup artist should never get a pistol permit. But why require "good character" for a barber's license? A better rule: "Criminal convictions should be considered only to the extent actually relevant to fitness to participate in activities posing particular dangers to society."

Irrational Discrimination. In New York last year, Governor Nelson Rockefeller signed a bill restoring many rights for first offenders--a deliberate attempt to remedy the fact that 70% of the state's convicts are repeaters. Some experts even urge the complete erasing of ex-felons' records. The presidential task force is against going that far. "But some annulment procedure," it says, "may be necessary to deal with problems of irrational discrimination against past offenders by licensing agencies, private employers and society generally."

* A misdemeanor is usually punishable by a fine or less than a year's imprisonment in a city or county institution. But widely varying statutes blur distinctions: some misdemeanors carry longer sentences than some felonies--up to three years in Arkansas, for example. While $99 thefts are often misdemeanors, $100 thefts are felonies.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.