felonization

The act of criminalizing an act as a felony.

[…] felonization of nonviolent offenses has required extensive new construction of prisons, which involves large government contracts with private companies.

With the felonization of software infringement, the hoped-for enforcement activity has been realized, with a number of software piracy prosecutions having been initiated since the legislation was enacted.

The act of making somebody into a felon.

With an avalanche of state-based initiatives to reform the criminal justice system, it is easy to ignore happenings at the federal level. Unfortunately, the felonization of America continues virtually unnoticed. Federal statutes with vast reach put millions of Americans at risk of being fined or imprisoned, with much damage already done. Cambridge Attorney Harvey Silverglate has thoroughly documented this federal over-criminalization, and his conclusions are frightening. Silverglate estimates that the average American commits three felonies a day!

The Department of Justice should cease the mass “felonization” of thousands undocumented workers across the U.S. It's wrong to prosecute hard working, otherwise law abiding undocumented immigrants […]