convict/felon/offender/parolee

San Francisco's Board of Supervisors is recommending the use of person-first language with criminal justice terms. Mai Fernandez, executive director of the National Center for Victims of Crime, says that people-first language places the individual before the criminal record by using neutral, objective, non-pejorative language. Thus, a convict is a currently incarcerated person, while a juvenile offender/delinquent is a young person in the justice system, a felon is a formerly incarcerated person, and a parolee is someone under supervision. For those who will be impatient with such a suggestion, consider whether you want these individuals rehabilitated to become contributing members of society-- and the small but important role language might have in that transition. See also victim.