By TED SYLVESTER
(Here are some excerpts
from Ted’s column for February 25, 1972)
How Serious is a
Felon?
Most People Don’t
Realize
What does it mean to an
individual to be a convicted felon? A convicted felon is any person who has
been tried and found guilty, or pleaded guilty, to a felony, the most common of
which is breaking and entering crimes.
The present Knox County
Superior Court session is presided over by Justice William S. Silsby. The judge
has repeated over and over the seriousness of carrying the tag of convicted
felon. Even those who have been fortunate to escape punishment by confinement
and placed on probation will carry the label for the rest of their lives, or
until such time they might be granted a full pardon.
“Liberty is one of the
greatest liberties of all,” the judge told a defendant last week.
We spoke with the judge
this week and asked him what some of the things were that a convicted felon
would be deprived of. He said that they cannot hold public office; would not be
acceptable as police officers; could not hold any federal job; with few
exceptions the armed services will not accept them; and some find it very
difficult to get bonded.
In addition any
convicted felon can have his credibility impeached if ever called as a witness
in a court case.
“Persons who are
convicted felons always have it come back to haunt them,” Judge Silsby said,
adding that “some don’t seem to realize it.”
In order to receive a
pardon, the judge said that it had been his experience that a person would have
to maintain a good record for at least eight or 10 years before they could be
considered for a pardon.
In this same vein did
you notice the “Dear Abby” letter in Wednesday’s edition from the person who
had once been arrested and later completely cleared of any crime, but still
experienced extreme difficulty in securing a meaningful job.
Here are a few 1971
statistics on the Maine State Prison supplied by the Department of Mental
Health and Corrections:
Average daily population,
341; total admission during the year, 275; total released, 308; average length
of stay of those released, three years; average age of inmates at admission, 26
years; average education, eighth grade; most common offense, breaking, entering
and larceny.
Writings
Dated Sunday
Are you one of those
persons who believe that it is unlawful to pay a bill or receive payment on
Sunday?
You have probably heard
it said that any checks, receipts or contracts dated on Sunday are not worth
the paper they are printed on. If you are one such person, take heed of the
revised statutes of Maine:
“No deed, contract,
receipt or other instrument in writing is void because dated on the Lord’s day
without other proof than the date of its having been made and delivered on that
day.”
1971
Sardine Pack
The 1971 pack of canned
Maine sardines totaled 776,649 actual cases, compared with 743,831 cases in
1970, according to the Maine Sardine Council.
There were 20 plants
packing in 1971 and 21 plants in 1970.
Packing was spotty in
1971 with the smaller fish scarce, however, there was a more plentiful supply
of large fish, which were packed in the 15-oz. can. The pack of 15-oz. cans in
1971 reached 200,000+ cases.
(Some
of the type on the copy I made of this column was iffy, but I believe I got
these last facts correct. The 2000,000+ cases is an estimate as all the figures
were not discernable.)
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