[Ads-l] Convict

[Dan Goncharoff]

I saw the following headline in Wednesday's Wall Street Journal:

Ruling Weakens Gun Ban for Convicts.

I would expect a pretty strong gun ban for convicts, since the word means
convicted of a crime AND serving the sentence.

The gentleman in question pleaded guilty to $2,500 of food stamp fraud in
1995. He has not been incarcerated for a long time.

Has "convict" shifted its meaning to mean simply someone convicted of a
crime at some time in the past?

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