Getting Felonies sealed or expunged

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bpayne

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Aug 26, 2008
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I have 36 felonies and several misdemeanors on my record they are mostly violent serious felonies as well,. I have spent over 10 years in prison, I have been out since 2006. Is there any way to get rid of these felonies like have them expunged or sealed so I can get a job that does background checks, the state they are in is North Carolina.
 
If you lead an exemplary, stable life for many years, you might be able to get a pardon from the governor for all the felonies you have been convicted of. But this is a long road and could take a decade or two. During that time, you'd have to deal with your record and get good jobs and keep them despite having these felonies. Also, a pardon, at least in California where I live, doesn't expunge or seal your record, but gives you the ability to say that you were convicted and pardoned for the offenses. If I were an employer, I would take a governor's pardon very seriously. They're not easy to get, and I would consider a pardoned offender to be a trustworthy candidate for employment.

There might be other avenues for having these felonies wiped from your record, but I'm not sure what they are. If it were just one conviction, you could attempt to have it overturned in the court that convicted you, but 36 felonies sounds like too many for that avenue. A good criminal defense lawyer would be able to tell you your options. You should meet with one or more and discuss your situation.
 
so am I just fucked for the rest of my life as far as getting a good job then?
 
You could work for a small business where you'd have a chance to meet with the owner and convince him or her you're a good bet. You could also start your own business, either now or after you've found an field that you're interested in and worked for another small business in that field to get your experience. As far as getting a job as a UPS driver, a Microsoft systems analyst, or a cop, you may be out of luck but those are not the only types of jobs out there.

Does anyone who has felonies on their record have any advice or suggestions for how bpayne can cope with his job situation?
 
my uncle has a felony on is record. its a drug felony and he has had it for a long time, about 10 years or so. he has had some setbacks with job-seeking but he has had a decent job for a good 5 years now. I don't what the employer said about the felony but he obviously got hired so it worked out. I'm sure that the 'type' of felony along with the nature of the specific 'job' in question is whats taken into consideration. Example- lets say you have a felony conviction for armed robbery or robbery, and you were trying to get a job at a bank, I would think that wouldn't be a job that would hire a person with that type of felony. 36 felonies though is a different can of worms. One or two is one thing. If you can answer this, are the nature of any, some, most, or all, of the felonies in anyway connected with each other? Like is it a bernie madhoff type situation where the person commits multiple crimes but they are all connected or however that works? Bernie was charged with however many different crimes but they all were lumped into one indictment. Maybe this doesn't apply or I don't know what I'm talking about. Just trying to offer any advice.
 
most of them were seperate, but a few were connected, like when I robbed the store I worked at, I got commonlaw robbery (because I didn't use a weapon) kidnapping (because I made the manager move to the back of the store) and embezzelment, but most of my felonies were seperated. another connected one was discharging a firearm in a public place and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, they happened from the same act of shooting someone.
 
You basically have to do like I do, and only apply to places that don't ask you about criminal history. Most small businesses don't ask on the application or during the interview... I've been hired into a state government job without a background check...
 
Another thing to look into would be a manageable level of voluntary community service that may act to convince future employers you've changed for the better since your rabble-rousing days... :)

Good luck, bro'...
 
The suggestion of building up some positive cred through volunteer work is a good one I think. A part-time volunteer position with a non-profit can turn into a full-time job.

I also wanted to second (third/fourth?) the suggestion of trying to get hired by a small business. They're less likely to run background checks, especially if it's an "alternative" business. For example, "green" businesses that install solar, design/install environmentally-friendly landscaping or pools, water gardens etc.; bike repair shops; restaurants, esp. the hippie/punk ones; tech start-ups (you don't necessarily need to be an IT person or an engineer), etc.

I've run a few small companies and it was part of the philosophy to give back to the community, which included hiring interns/employees who were "at-risk" youth and/or recovering addicts and/or people like you who had criminal records and would otherwise be SOL when it came to getting a decent job. A decent job meaning one that wasn't entirely soul-sucking and that offered the opportunity to learn skills that would give a person the chance for a career.

Anyway… this isn't about what a wonderful, big-hearted saint I am, because I'm not. I'm an asshole like everyone else or worse in a lot of ways, but the point is that there are people out there like me who are willing to give people a second or third chance in life. You just have to find them.

Find the work training programs in non-profits in your city and get yourself involved with a few of them. Sometimes we'd hire someone through word-of-mouth, like "my cousin's cousin's boy just got out and needs a job"… but we also contacted non-profits in our neighborhood to find out who had work programs and people who needed work.

Check out craigslist. Non-profits are all over craigslist looking for people to do stuff for them for very little money. Hey it sucks but you're probably going to have to do some shit work here and there to build a decent job record. It'll work out. You'll find something. Once you find it, build on it.

You're an intense person, and with persistence, you can probably a position that will let you channel some of your energy into something that pays and is legit. Another good thing about small companies is that there's flexibility to do a lot of different things and room to move up. That's great if you get bored quick, and if you like having something you can call your own: your own project, your own team, a particular set of clients who prefer to do work with you, whatever. Power: feels good, man.

Wishing you the best of luck.

ps. Maybe work on that pardon in the mean time. Even if you could get 36 felonies expunged, think of the lawyers' fees. Fuck that noise.
 
I'm sorry but if I were an employer, I sure as hell would not hire someone with 36 felonies, some of them being when you robbed your previous employer.

That was the worst move you could pull if you were worried about getting a job (read: being trusted by management) in the future.


I have 1 misdemeanor which will be expunged in September and I'm worried about it screwing up my future employment...best of luck to you man.
 
A single felony conviction disqualifies an individual from receiving an expunction under NC law.

A gubernatorial pardon is usually handed out to persons who were wrongfully convicted, made substantial improvements to the community or who have made large donations to the Governor's political party.
 
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