Reducing the Legal Consequences of a Felony Conviction: A National Survey of State Statutes

• NCJ Number: 116192
• Journal: International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice Volume: 12 Issue: 1 Dated: (Spring 1988) Pages: 101-109
• Author(s): V S Burton; L F Travis; F T Cullen
• Date Published: 1988
• Length: 9 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences meeting in St. Louis, Missouri, March 1987.

Annotation

Offenders convicted of a felony are restricted from exercising a number of civil rights.

Abstract

This paper surveys the statutes for each State in order to determine the available legal methods for restoring a convicted individual's civil rights. Specifically, the methods investigated in the statutes were pardon, expungement of conviction, and the automatic restoration of civil rights upon the completion of sentence. While the number of restoration procedures varied by State, the southern region of the Nation had the fewest opportunities for offenders to restore their civil rights. (Author abstract)