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"Leon Quinn got out of prison in New York last year, moved to North Carolina and tried to start a new life.
Quinn had been in and out of trouble since he was a teenager. He mostly sold crack, and figures that from 1981 — to 2007, he spent about 15 years locked up.
... employers don’t want to hire a convicted felon...he said.
“It’s like we’re marked as criminals,” Quinn said...

Well DUH!

Sucks when you have to lay in the bed you made, huh?
? And why do you think you should not have to continue paying for your crimes after your prison term is over?
There are plenty of people I'm sure that are still paying for the crimes you committed against them, the ruined lives of the families whose son or daughter, you killed with the drugs you sold them, or they are still alive but living in a mental hospital with a fried brain. People whose loved ones were shot and killed by those who became addicts from the drugs you sold them.

There are plenty of jobs for a person like you. They involve a lot of charity work. They may not pay well, but so what. You should spend the rest of your life helping those whose lives you've ruined; It tells people, and most of all God, that you are truly repentant for your sins against him and those you've harmed. God will tell you when it's enough when your fortunes improve.

Thanks for the snap back to reality, Nathan -- good post! I was sitting here reading the earlier posts, wondering how many FReepers know what it's like to have to answer "yes" to "Have you ever been arrested? Have you ever been convicted of a felony?" on a job application. Thirty years ago, when I was a very wild and heedless 21, I partied too hard, lost my temper on what turned out to be a crooked cop who lied to the judge, and was charged with Felony Assault on an Officer, to which I plead guilty (I slapped the cop, but I didn't tear his uniform, as the officer falsely claimed I did).

Believe me, you don't get hired by big companies with interesting jobs when you either have to answer "yes" and explain, or lie and get caught in a check of records. It was a blessing in disguise, as so much of God's bounty has been for me -- He works His wonders in the most awesome ways, and those things (alcoholism, for example) I thought were curses turned out to be my personal gifts, my personal blessings, from Him. They've made me a better person, which is why I am so leery of well-meaning people, conservative and liberal, who think they can interfere in a person's path to God by meddling in sins involving weakness of the flesh -- that can only ever be, and WILL only ever be, between God and the individual, no matter how much do-gooders like to pretend otherwise ...

ANYWAY, I was thinking how in a splendid way, the fact that I had to find another option than large companies for employment led me to the a wonderful career, a unique way of making money doing something that enriches commerce around me and which I enjoy very much; I wouldn't trade it for anything.

And yes you are so right -- those charity jobs you talk about are so very appropriate and right for ex Felons who've done real time for truly serious, horrible crimes (I spent a night in jail and paid a fine, that's all!), and I had forgotten all about them reading this thread until you mentioned them. YOU ARE SO RIGHT about that. I made my bed and so do the ex Felons, and the thing is, God provides a multitude of ways to lie in it with grace and comfort if you let Him.

Thanks again, Nathan, for the good reminder.