“You’ve done the penalty. Good bye and have a nice day. Having a conviction following you for the rest of your life is a life sentence.”
Though I agree with what you are saying, I doubt it’s been that way since the 60’s or maybe the 70’s. Nowadays, a teenager who makes an idiotic Facebook post will have it following him/her around forever.
Like five year old kids being branded a sexual deviate for kissing a classmate ...