These convicted felons say if Trump can be elected president they shouldn’t face a stigma when applying for jobs
CNN
CNN asked convicted felons about their struggles, their hopes and how they feel about President-elect Donald Trump, who will return to the White House after being convicted of 34 felony charges.
Once a felon, always a felon. That is how some convicted felons say society looks at them, no matter the crime. Around 19 million Americans have a felony conviction, and at least 79 million has a criminal record, which can mean an arrest, charges or a conviction. But having a felony conviction, whether it involves incarceration or not, can impact your life long after you have served your time and paid your debt to society, felons say. There is a stigma that sticks to convicted felons even years after the crime, says Bruce Western, professor of Sociology and Social Justice and director of the Justice Lab at Columbia University. “I think the core content of criminal stigma is that it arouses fears that someone could behave violently or dishonestly,” he said. “That’s kind of what a criminal record is signaling to people.” Many felons say their criminal records make it harder for them to find jobs. About 30% of people with criminal records are unemployed. But that stigma did not appear to harm former president Donald Trump in the 2024 election. Less than six months after a New York jury convicted him of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to conceal a hush money payment to a porn star, Americans voted to return Trump to the presidency. “The president-elect, he contested the legitimacy of court action against him from the beginning,” Western said. “And I think his supporters, a lot of them found that pretty credible.” In a poll after the trial, 83% of Republicans said they felt Trump’s conviction was politically motivated, with just 17% saying it was not, according to an AP-NORC survey.
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