WHY do ex-offenders check the box "Have you ever been convicted of a felony?"

[Major Nikon]

62. No ethical lawyer is going to advise a client to lie

I'm just curious as to how often people are getting sent back to prison for lying on a job application, as in almost never, occassionally, or in most instances. I suspect it's the former, but have no idea.

The days of a felon getting a job with someone who cares about such things are generally well past given how easy it is to do background checks these days. I can't remember the last time someone slipped through the cracks where I work. So it's really just a matter of someone who didn't check the box and got caught before they were hired which would rely on the prospective employer turning them in. This also assumes a subset of felons who are on parole in the first place. Someone who wasn't wouldn't seem to have much to lose by not checking the box.