Social Security benefits are normally available to any citizen of the United States who has paid into the system through deductions in their paychecks. But, what about people who have commited a crime? Are they still eligible, or have they forfeited their rights to these benefits? If you or someone you know has been convicted of a crime, keep reading to learn some more information about how that affects your Social Security payments.
Which Benefits Can Your Receive?
Those who have been incarcerated may still be eligible for the following benefits through the Social Security Administration (SSA):
Retirement
Survivors
Disability.
Who Can Collect Benefits?
Even if you have been incarcerated because you committed a crime, you may still be eligible for
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Further, you are not eligible if there is an active warrant out for your arrest for a felony that is punishable by imprisonment or death.. You also may not be eligible for benefits if you were found not guilty of a crime due to mental illness or it was determined that you were not competent enough to stand trial. It is important to note that if your incarceration lasts less than one month, you will still not be eligible for benefits during that particular month.
Parole Violations
If, after your release from prison, you violate any condition of your parole or probation, you will not be able to receive your Social Security benefits for the month in which the violation occurred.
Eligibility for Felons
In most cases, even if you were convicted of a felony, it will not affect your ability to collect Social Security benefits. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. You may not collect benefits if you fall into one of these categories:
Your disability was the result of, or was made worse, while committing a felony
Your disability occurred, or was made worse, while you were in prison on a felony
Has been convicted in any court of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding on year;
“Many People say that serious crime committers have shown they aren’t trustworthy” (Clegg). After a felon is released from prison, the expectation would be that they would shape up and return to their lives, however most of their lives are completely changed. When a felon is released from prison, they should retain their same rights as a US citizen as well as their right to vote and serve in Jury Duty, because they served their time and cannot be held in double jeopardy, and are valuable assets to the country for work and less homelessness.
Charles is a 21 year-old Caucasian single male currently residing with his mother and stepfather whom also is Charles’s uncle. Charles graduated high school and due to his illness he receives social security benefits. During a two year period Charles had nine visits to the emergency room resulting in admission to the psychiatric unit. On two admissions Charles left against medical advice, five admissions required a higher level of care resulting in admission to the state psychiatric hospital and two Charles was transferred to the adult crisis unit. Charles also has a misdemeanor history mainly public nuisance due to substance abuse mainly marijuana and cocaine. Charles was evicted after a psychotic episode and destroying his apartment.
...s locked up. Money owed for various things—such as credit cards, auto loans, mortgages, child support, taxes, and more—will be waiting on the outside world whether an ex-convict is ready for them or not. In addition, most ex-convicts are required to pay for court fees, fines, and restitution (Ross and Richards, 150).
Once released from prison, he or she is deemed a felon. Losing the right to vote, not being able to serve on a jury, and inability to enforce his or her second amendment is just a few of the disadvantages of serving time, but this is just the textbook interpretation. There is no much more that is at stake when you step foot behind bars. Once a person gains their freedom the better question to ask is what wasn’t taken form them? Their job if there was one in the first place, their children, their family, and most importantly the part of the person that made them a member of society.
They have been excluded from voting because they have been convicted of a felony. A felony is usually considered a crime. that could lead to more than a year in prison. But states can often have differing views of what is considered a felony or a misdemeanor. Such an important right should not be subject to the whims of state legislatures.
Mentally ill offenders face many challenges while being incarcerated and after being released. Rehabilitation is effective on mentally ill offenders by reducing their symptoms of distress and improving their behavior.
In most states ex-felons are not allowed to vote. This takes away a large portion of the voting population because of how many ex-felons there are right now and the many more that will be in the future. Ex-felons may also have a very hard time finding a job or a place to live. Legally landlords are allowed to deny an ex-felon. In Carbondale Illinois rental properties owners “Home Rentals” does background checks to make sure that none of their potential renters are felons. If they are felons Home Rentals claims that they will deny them the privilege of living in one of their properties. Ex-felons may also have a hard time finding jobs. Not many employers are willing to employ ex-felons for the fear of more crime or less commitment. Though denying these ex-felons jobs will not help the economy, only giving them jobs can help that.
You cannot do close to anything that you do on the outside as you do on the inside. Besides eating and sleeping and you can only do that inside of a prison when you are told to. You cannot have a social life inside of prison unless you are mingling with people who committed similar or worse crimes then you did. Although you can attend school while being incarcerated it is nothing like attending a regular class with people and interacting with classmates and professors. Research states that the labeling theory comes dangerously close to claiming that the main causes of crime do not matter. Once you are labeled there is no turning back from what they have stamped on your
Should convicted ex-convicts be given a second chance? This is a common topic talked about all around the world. There are many of people who’ve made mistakes, particularly when they’re young, and why this shouldn’t be in everyone interests to help them redeem themselves and then get on a straight path. Many who are being released from incarceration fear failure before release to society with only the basic minimum education allowed while incarcerated. According to Wheeler & Patterson (2008) “Problems when reentering communities, including substance abuse; mental illness; HIV and AIDS; lack of education; unemployment; homelessness; legal barriers to receiving public services, such as bans on obtaining public assistance; public housing restrictions and limited transitional housing options” (p.145). However, when ex-convicts are not given an equal chance in employment, to improve themselves, they will usually fall back into the cycle of crime and incarceration. Things like theft and drug abuse are caused as a result of the social, financial and physical effects of poverty or poor financial state.
According to The Sentencing Project, 5.3 million Americans (1 in 40 adults) were unable to vote due to a felony conviction in the 2008 election. This included 1.4 million African-American men, more than 676,000 women, and 2.1 million sex-offenders who have completed their sentences. That was an enormous amount of people not being able to cast their vote. There ae three important reasons why anyone who has committed a felony and has respectfully served their time, should be able to vote again.
...able to work again on a regular basis. There are also a number of special rules, called “work incentives,” that provide continued benefits and health care coverage to help you make the transition back to work. If you are receiving Social Security disability benefits when you reach full retirement age, your disability benefits automatically convert to retirement benefits, but the amount remains the same. In most cases, people will continue to receive benefits as long as you are disabled. However, there are certain circumstances that may change your continuing eligibility for disability benefits. For example, your health may improve to the point where you are no longer disabled; or like many people, would like to go back to work rather than depend on disability benefits. The law requires the review of cases from time to time to verify that people are still disabled.
That could lower your chances on going back to jail because you are occupied doing something positive. Another condition that is usually followed after a release is having to check on probation officers and take drug test, to you it might not seem like a big deal but some people find it difficult because that is their way of managing their problems, or they feel like they cannot possibly get through the day without an intake in some type of contraband. In most case people are allowed the opportunity to attend a drug abuse program so you could be able to express yourself and vent to people who have the same problem or psychologist to help you get over the problem The program varies in different time periods, some are approximately six month and some people do not have the patience to go through and rather go to jail for a couple of months then being supervised or having to go to a mandatory program. On “Fas” web it states, “Some ex-offenders, however, eventually end up back in prison. The BJS’s most recent study on recidivism showed that within five years of release nearly three-quarters of ex-offenders released in 2005 came back into contact with the criminal justice system, and more than half returned to prison after either being convicted for a new crime or for violating the conditions of their release.” Majority of the time the P.O (probation officer) explain conditions that cannot be
Every American citizen has a record that shows in detail information about that individual. Records can contain any sort of information whether it is financial records, medical records, education, etc. When one is of age and decides to apply for a job, many employers ask for an individual’s record to see if they have been apart of any criminal activities. It is quite common for employers to conduct background checks when being interested in hiring someone. People who have a criminal record have the option to either seal it or expunge it. Sealing a record does not make the record non-existing, but shields the accessibility of the record from the public, unless accessed under court order. On the other hand, the expungment of a criminal record means the record is completely obliterated as if the crime had never been committed. Depending on the circumstances of the crime committed, an ex-felon may deserve a second chance, however the employer obtains the right to know whom he or she is hiring on behalf of their own protection and the protection of the other clients and co-workers.
When someone goes to jail or prison and gets out who’s to say they are