I would support treating ex-cons as a protected class where you can reject candidates for specific roles for specific reasons but can't just discriminate against anyone with any history. History of theft? Okay, let's not leave you alone with people's valuables. History of assault? Okay, let's not leave you alone with vulnerable people. But beyond that, if we're not willing to say that your sentence is finished when your sentence is finished, we're admitting a major flaw in our criminal justice system. And maybe that flaw is there, but then we should fix it. "Guilty for the rest of your life for ANY conviction" is just as bad as "guilty until proven innocent" in my opinion. I don't know what you were convicted of, but there aren't many things that would block me from trusting you to sit at a computer in an office and contribute to a software project as part of a team.

Side note: are there really NO companies that let you in the door? I've had some larger corporate places ask me about any criminal history and have even run a background check. But I don't think it's come up at small and medium-size companies, where I'd also expect there's a bit more understanding and flexibility anyway. Maybe the ageism is more of an obstacle there? But then maybe I just don't notice because I don't have a conviction to tell them about. I certainly don't mean to minimize your problem, just wondering if it's really a complete deal breaker everywhere.