A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as "prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former convicts, especially those recently released from prison, is "ex-con" ("ex-convict"). Persons convicted and sentenced to non-custodial sentences tend not to be described as "convicts".
The label of "ex-convict" usually has lifelong implications, such as social stigma or reduced opportunities for employment. The federal government of Australia, for instance, will not, in general, employ an ex-convict, while some state and territory governments may limit the time for or before which a former convict may be employed.
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Convicts at Botany Bay.jpg
"Landing of Convicts at Botany Bay" from Captain Watkin Tench's A NARRATIVE OF THE EXPEDITION TO BOT...
Prisoners and gendarms on the road to Siberia (Geoffroy, 1845).JPG
Prisoners and gendarms on the road to Siberia (Geoffroy, 1845)