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Public Humiliation And Us Criminal Waiver Requirements Among Collateral Consequences
One of the chief collateral consequences that a person can expect to suffer is humiliation before and possible rejection by their family, friends and the rest of society. Take the case of Commodore Eric Lerhe, for example. In 2001, Lerhe was the Commander of the Canadian Navy’s Canadian Fleet Pacific when the prospect of possibly having to preside over a court-martial of a subordinate who was accused of misusing his Canadian Forces computer fell upon him. The trouble was that Lerhe had committed the same offence, and having to try another person for it made him feel like a hypocrite. He therefore went to his superior and admitted to having used his computer to view pornography (albeit off duty, in his private quarters and through his own internet account). Apparently, the chain of command did not appreciate his honesty too greatly, for Lerhe was temporarily relieved of his command and court-martialled. In the end, he was fined $200 and his command was restored. For a high-ranking officer, the formal penalty was relatively light, but the nation-wide publicity that his behaviour received and the disgrace of a court-martial (not to mention how it must have affected his family life) must have been a much harsher punishment, for an admittedly minor offence. Such negative consequences can be many in number and are not difficult to imagine. Depending on the case, they may include: • Being divorced by one’s spouse or being disowned by one’s relatives • Being beaten or sexually assaulted by fellow prison inmates • Losing one’s house due to not being able to pay the mortgage and property taxes while incarcerated • Having trouble re-integrating into society after spending time in prison An interesting case for study is that of a criminal record. Having one may turn out to be the greatest barrier to a person’s attempts to lead a normal life after release. Numerous organizations and institutions require a clean criminal record, in default of which a person will find a wide variety of things restricted to them, including: • Volunteering, especially with vulnerable individuals such as children and senior citizens • A wide variety of jobs (public sector, security, banking and many others) • Adopting a child • Travelling to some countries, including the United States and Canada This is one example of a collateral consequence that can be legally mitigated: in Canada, a person who has committed a criminal offence may, with a few exceptions, apply for a pardon after serving their sentence. The pardon will result in the criminal record being sealed so as not to appear during criminal record checks, again, with some exceptions. A pardon will not be enough for travel to the US (Canadian pardons are not recognized by the US); however, by applying for a US criminal waiver from the US Department of Homeland Security, a person can obtain the right to travel to the US again. The catch is that there are conditions for receiving these documents which go past merely serving your sentence. For a Canadian pardon, a person must wait 3 to 10 years after serving their sentence (depending on the severity of their crime) before they can even apply; in the meantime, they will experience all the collateral consequences associated with being an ex-convict. In the case of a US criminal waiver, this document is not permanent but is issued for only 1 to 5 years (usually for 1 year when applying the first time). Every time one applies for any of these, the procedure is a long and bureaucratic one. Perhaps both the Canadian Government and US Homeland Security actually want a person to experience these additional consequences, as part of their overall punishment. Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com Ned Lecic writes for a Toronto pardons agency and also likes doing so in his spare time. |
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