Debt to Society

I'm not exactly sure how this will turn out. I'm sure it will run along the lines of a rant though. There are some things on my mind and i really need to get them out in the open, and perhaps get some input and thoughts on the matter.

A person is arrested for a crime they may or may not have committed. The issue of their guilt is no longer an issue in society's eyes because the courts found them guilty; so they must have done it. After all, the courts would never convict an innocent person. Right? So the person goes to prison, serves the sentence the court issued and then whatever the Parole Board feels they should serve as well. Then the person comes back out into society, serves another year or two on parole, then discharges off of parole. 

Now, my question is this; Has their debt been paid? Or does it now become the right of society to continue to make them pay? When you won't hire someone with a criminal record for a job, what do you suppose happens next? Everywhere that person turns, they get denied employment based upon their criminal record. 

Now 20 years has passed since the person's conviction. Has that debt been paid yet? They have continued to do everything that is required of them. They have committed no "other" crimes. Still they are denied employment based on that same criminal record. When is enough really enough? When will people, who don't even know this person, stop dragging their name through the mud? And here's a better question; who on this Earth is really so perfect in their own lives that they have the right to talk down about another person? Who died and said you could judge someone else based on something that happened 20 years or more ago? What skeletons would one find in your closet if they went digging? And would you want those skeletons to be made public knowledge? 

Lets say you made a mistake back when you were in your early 20's. Would you want your entire life to be defined based on that one mistake that you made? Say you were out partying with your friends and you made the decision to drive after you had been drinking. Then while you're swerving all over the road in your drunken haze, you go off the road and hit a tree. Now it would be bad enough if you were in the vehicle alone; but lets say your boyfriend or girlfriend were in the vehicle or your buddy. Now the passenger in your vehicle dies due to your decision to drink and drive. And sure, this is a decision and tragedy that you will have to live with for the REST OF YOUR LIFE. But society has decided that every time you try to move on with your life and put this tragedy behind you, they're going to drag it back up over and over again. So now, not only do you get to relive that tragic night and your thoughtless decision, but so does the passenger's family.

How are you feeling right now? Is this something that you would like to relive every day for the rest of your life? Are you still feeling superior to everyone else? Or shall we go digging through your past to see what we can find? The message I'm trying to get across here is to think before you judge someone. Make sure you're truly in a position that you can judge anyone for anything.