Accessibility links
felon felon
Stories About

felon

Should we stop using the word "felon"?

What the reaction to Trump's felony conviction tells us about the word "felon" Jackie Lay hide caption

toggle caption
Jackie Lay

Analysis

Code Switch

Should we stop using the word "felon"?

This week, we're turning our sights on the word "felon", and looking into what it tells us (and can't tell us) about the 19 million people in the U.S. — like Donald Trump and Hunter Biden — carrying that designation around.

Should we stop using the word "felon"?

Listen · 33:58
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197956590/1254007047" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
A Black man jailed instead of a white male felon with a similar name is suing police

Shane Lee Brown (left) spent six days in jail after police departments in Las Vegas and Henderson, Nev., confused him with Shane Neal Brown, an older white man and a felon. AP hide caption

toggle caption
AP

Law

A Black man jailed instead of a white male felon with a similar name is suing police

Nevada police thought Shane Lee Brown, who is Black, was Shane Neal Brown, who is white, taller and roughly twice as old. Now, Shane Lee Brown has filed suit, seeking $500,000 in damages.

Virginia Governor Clears Path For Ex-Convicts To Regain Voting Rights

"We are a Commonwealth that believes in moving forward, not being tied down by the mistakes of our past," Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said in a statement. Steve Helber/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Steve Helber/AP

America Reckons With Racial Injustice

Virginia Governor Clears Path For Ex-Convicts To Regain Voting Rights

"Too many of our laws were written during a time of open racism and discrimination, and they still bear the traces of inequity," Gov. Ralph Northam said on Tuesday.

'Felon' Author Says, 'Everybody Has To Tell Their Kids Something'

Felon: Poems, by Reginald Dwayne Betts W.W.Norton & Co. hide caption

toggle caption
W.W.Norton & Co.

Author Interviews

'Felon' Author Says, 'Everybody Has To Tell Their Kids Something'

Lawyer-poet Reginald Dwayne Betts for years hid the fact that he had served time in prison. Now, this time in his life is at the center of his new collection of poems.

'Felon' Author Says, 'Everybody Has To Tell Their Kids Something'

Listen · 9:03
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/775605155/775907358" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Browse archive or search npr.org