A serious criminal offense that subjects a person to state prison punishment is a(n):

A serious criminal offense that subjects a person to state prison punishment is a(n):

a. felony

b. indictment

c. capital crime

d. misdemeanor

e. petty crime

Answer: a. felony

A felony is defined as an upper tangent of criminal activity which is tried and if convicted, the offender is sent to a state or federal prison to serve a year or more imprisonment sentence. While felonies are more heinous than misdemeanors which are minor offences for which one could receive fines or imprisonment in a county jail for a lesser time. Sample felony offenses are murder, rape, armed robbery, and large-scale drug dealing. It has to be mentioned that the division of a crime as a felony or a misdemeanor depends on the legislation and the rules regarding the punishment of the area in which the offence took place. The general impact of a felony conviction depends on the particular state and these may include loss of certain rights, the inability to gain employment or house among other things.