I was sentenced to 50 years (40 suspended) at the age of 18 for non-violent crimes. I spent my entire sentence in Maximum Security Facilities. AMA.

From the age of 12, I abused drugs and alcohol. I spent my teens addicted to drugs, committing a variety of "little" crimes, and shuffling from one reform school to the next. As soon as I turned 18, I hit the big time.

I went on a drug binge using stolen checks and credit cards obtained from a series of daytime burglaries. I was eventually caught and charged with 32 different felonies. There were enough in penalties that I was facing the rest of my natural life in prison.

I was offered a plea deal of 50 years with 40 suspended. I had to serve 10 years in prison and then 10 years in probation. If I was convicted of anything else during that time, I faced having those 40 tacked back on. I took the deal and promised to myself that I would turn my life around.

I served 6 years in a maximum security prison, with 4 being credited for good behavior. I have been free for 17 years. Cracked.com will be publishing a personal experience article that includes a bit about my story (the final draft was really good!) in the next week or so, but I wanted to give the full picture of life as an ex-con for those who are interested.

My name is Chris Cash. I went from drug addict to prisoner to married father. I created r/ExCons, and with the help of u/kinggutter and u/expeal, it spawned our Wiki. We hope to make it the best and most up-to-date resource for people who can't seal or expunge their criminal record and need to live with the worry of a red flag on their background checks.

Together, we also launched a non-profit this week, Rexcons, in order to raise enough funding to allow us to convert the Wiki into a paper version that will be supplied to inmates upon their release, starting with one facility we hope will serve as a model to others.

Along with the fact that the criminal justice reform movement has some real momentum behind it - the ban the box order by President Obama as well as the bi-partisan bills introduced by the Senate and the House, for example - I am excited about the major push towards providing real rehabilitative opportunities to those who earn them.

Whether it is about my childhood, my time in prison, life after getting out, or recent legislation (/u/expeal, a Florida licensed attorney, will help with some of those questions) - go ahead and AMA.