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KIRKSVILLE, MO. -- What’s the difference between a felony and a misdemeanor?

We answered that question in Monday’s Facebook Story of the Day.

The main difference between a felony and a misdemeanor charge is the range of punishment and the severity of the crime.

For a Class “A” misdemeanor, the maximum penalty someone can receive is up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

For Class “B” misdemeanors, someone is punishable by up to 6 months in jail along with a $500 fine.

Class “C” and “D” misdemeanors are minor and usually don’t carry any jail time.

For felonies, the most severe falls under Class “A”. If someone is charged with a Class “A” felony, they can face 10 to life in prison.

Class “B” felonies carry 5-15 years in prison.

With Class “C” and “D” felonies, someone can still be punished by a sentence of up to a year in county jail, but they also face the potential of serving up to four years in prison for “D” felonies and up to 7 years in prison for “C” felonies.

Both “C” and “D” felonies carry a $5,000 fine along with the jail time.

So do charges ever come of a person’s criminal record?

“That depends, there are some charges that by statute, you can not only have the guilty plead expunged and removed, but also records of arrest,” said Adair County Prosecutor Matt Wilson. “DWI's, if it’s your first offence, DWI is a misdemeanor or a “B” misdemeanor and you can have, by statute, after 10 years, you can have that record expunged or removed off your criminal history. “

Having any sort of criminal record could make it more difficult for someone to find a job.

“We're finding more and more people are calling and asking for records, their police records, from years past,” said Wilson. “Even arrests are now being investigated when people are looking for jobs, because the job market has become so competitive, and so even being arrested can be a hurdle for people. But certainly being found guilty of felonies, depending on the type of felony and why, has caused a lot of problems for people.”

What if someone has been arrested, but never formally charged?

“Contact an attorney to see what your options are,” Wilson said. “Even having those arrests on their record, but no charges, can be a headache for people.”

What does someone have to do in order to get a charge removed from their record?

“In order to have it removed, even after let’s say 10 years for a DWI, they have to file the proper paperwork through the proper court and have a court order that that charge be removed,” said Wilson.

Another difference between felonies and misdemeanors is if someone is placed on probation, by law the Department of Corrections which handles probation and parole, supervises only felony cases and very few misdemeanor cases.

“If someone is placed on probation with a misdemeanor, we don’t have a means right now to supervise them and so that is a major difference,” Wilson said. “When they are on probation with a felony, they are meeting with a probation officer, they are subject to regular drug and alcohol testing, and their employment is monitored. With misdemeanors, there’s a limited amount of checking up on them, and so that’s where we rely on the community to inform law enforcement if a person is violating their probation terms.”