Once upon a time, being convicted of a felony meant you had committed a very horrible act, like murder, rape, and armed robbery. Nowadays, it seems like your run of a mill typical crime is being charged as a felony. For example, let’s look at crimes involving not having enough money (like writing bad checks and owing child support). These crimes are felonies if they involve $500 or more. Should we really equate someone writing $500 in bad checks into the same felony classification as a murderer? Another example is drug crimes; should we really equate drug possession into the same felony classification as a murderer?
I think we can still be tough on average commonplace crime without brandishing all law violators as felons.
If you are ever charged with a felony: please make sure to appropriately prioritize your legal defense because there is no such thing as a trivial felony conviction.