There is a fascinating piece over at Vox by author Morgan Gliedman about being a young mother with a felony record. Ms. Gliedman has just about every other advantage in the world–money, a supporting family, a talent for writing, but still struggles because of her heroin conviction in ways that wouldn’t be immediately obvious to most. We need to talk more about the damage that is done to a child when a mother is labeled as a felon for life, and all of the opportunities that child loses, as a result of the mother’s status.
I am so happy to be a part of the process in Kentucky that reverses some of that damage through expungement. I have spoken with so many courageous people that were victims of opioid addiction and the struggles they’ve gone through to get and stay clean. I see the carnage caused by heroin almost every day in my practice. Stories like the ones I’ve heard from you all and Ms. Gliedman let me know just how important Kentucy’s new approach to forgiveness and expungement is.
This is a great read. I too, am a single mother with a felony record. I have already gotten everything in line for July to have my record expunged. It’s been 11 years since my conviction. While I have been very lucky in being able to be productive in my life with my child, I have still faced many problems with a conviction on my record.
I dunno. I usually feel sympathy for people convicted of felonies but Gliedman not only manufactured bombs but also threw her boyfriend under the bus for lax sentencing. She didn’t see any jailtime and manage to get a job in an office. And her duaghter probably won’t grow up poor because she has rich parents. And on top of that she’s trying to profit off her crimes by writing a memoir? Honestly she seems to have an easier life than many non-felon people I know.
I don’t disagree with you on many of those points. I agree that Gliedman is not the most sympathetic case, just trying to highlight something we don’t talk about much–one of the other collateral consequences of a felony conviction being how it effects children of the defendant. Thank you for you comment.
I was invited, by the elementary school my daughter was attending, to chaperone their trip to Washington DC in 2014. When I got the call from the school offering to pay my way, all while getting the opportunity to enjoy this precious time with my baby girl, I was ecstatic! Later that day, or dawned on me…I have a felony. I can’t attend trips like these. So I call the school back and disclose my conviction, making sure to mention it was 14 years prior and that it was non violent. At that moment, the tone changed. I was no longer a mom. I was a felon.