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Pros And Cons Of Felons

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Felons and Voting: Should Felons Be Allowed To Vote? If society thought criminals could be never be reformed, the government would not allow them to be released out of prison, correct? Leading to a bigger question, why should ex-felons and felons not be able to vote? A felon is person that has been convicted of a felony. Felons should not have the privilege of voting taken away after being convicted of a felony. Felons should be allowed to vote during and after the prison term. For numerous years, the U.S. Justice Department has been advocating states to reject laws that prevent felons from voting (Mauer, von Spakvosky , “Should Felons Be Able to Vote?”) Laws that prevent felons from voting have been found fair. Most states have adopted voting …show more content…

More than two million African Americans, or close to eight percent of black adults, aren’t able to vote. A little less than two percent of non-African Americans are not allowed to vote (Voting Rights: 6 Reasons Ex-Felons Should Vote, Newsmax). About 3.9 million citizens in the U.S. were not able to take part in the current 2016 election because of the U. S. disenfranchisement laws regarding convicted felons. African American males are mostly affected by these laws. In some states, once a felon completes the sentencing, voting rights are restored. However, in ten states, Alabama, Delaware, Florida, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, Virginia, and Wyoming, a convicted felon voting rights are never restored. Disenfranchisement law does vary by state. In some states, like Illinois, prisoners cannot vote. In Georgia, if the person is in prison, on probation or on parole, the felon is disenfranchised. In Texas, an ex-felon cannot vote for two years after the sentence. Keeping disenfranchisement laws not only allowing African Americans males or females not to vote, but the laws are also keeping the non- African American males or females from voting ( “State’s Laws Felons Prevent 1.4 Million Black Men From Voting In The U.S.: Report.”

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The amendments prohibited all prisoners who were serving a sentence of imprisonment for a commonwealth, state or territory offence from voting in federal elections. Before

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United States citizens with a criminal background should be allowed to vote in their state of residency Ontreal Harris Professor Ross Composition II Reference Shaw, Jerry. “When Did Ex-Felons Lose Their Rights to Vote? A History.” Newsmax. Newsmax Media, Inc.

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The removal of this right dehumanizes prisoners. The streets of Texas are filled with blue or white collar criminals on bail or simply waiting for their sentence. Presently, if individual are found guilty of a crime, but they are not given a judicial sentence they are still allowed to vote; why should there be treated differently from convicted criminals who are locked up? However, allowing prisoners to vote while in prison would increase voting turnout and also Texas would gain the reputation of becoming one of the two states that allow prisoners to vote while in prison.

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With having a background already on the idea of what the government interest served by disenfranchising felons. The definition of disenfranchising felons is basically taking away their rights to votes. George Will first starts talking about how people that may have made by chooses when they were younger, have turned it around but since for example, he stated in Florida people that have been convicted have been disgraced because of their past. He uses the example of Desmond Meade that turned his life around trying to paint the picture of someone that was involved in drugs and what not having that one accident or being in a “bummy path of life”. “He is a graduate of Florida International University law school but cannot vote in his home state

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However, there are more voter participations, but women, Native Americans, and African Americans cannot

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Studies have shown that allowing felons to vote would “help ensure against recidivism and continued antisocial behavior” which would bloom democracy (Faceoff 6). Here, felon enfranchisement supporters argue that eliminating felons from voting leads to lower rates of participation in government. Without a large amount of voter participation, The United States defies its founding Declaration of Independence that aimed to give Americans an equal voice in politics, economy, and government. Therefore, barring felons from voting leads to the direct destruction of the democratic principles of The United States. Additionally, Brennan Center, a non-partisan law institute that focuses on issues of democracy, found that allowing felons to vote would lead to an expansion of democracy (Bernd 5).

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states — are prohibited from voting because of current or previous felony convictions. Nearly 150 years after Reconstruction, when felony disenfranchisement laws were first widely implemented throughout the South to intentionally reduce the electoral strength of former slaves, 40 percent of these individuals are African-American — meaning that nearly one in 13 African-American adults are currently ineligible to cast a ballot. In three states — Florida, Kentucky and Virginia — that ratio is one in five.

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A finding from a study done by the Bureau of Justice Statistics shows that 67.8 percent of ex-convicts were rearrested. Two-thirds of them spent their time in prison waiting for the release, only to go back into that dirty old cell again. Why don’t they try to get a real job, earn their own living and cherish the second chance we grant them. Let’s step down from the moral high ground for a second. Often released prisoners lack the skills and knowledge to keep up with the pace of society.

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Felony voting: Unjust or rightful justice As of 2008 over 5.3 million Americans were denied the right to vote due to felony disenfranchisement laws. The United states is among the most punitive nations in the world when it comes to denying the right to vote and this has consequently caused voting rights to be a controversial issue for years now. Disenfranchisement can be linked back to centuries ago, in western countries, felony disenfranchisement can be traced back to ancient greek and roman traditions and was commonly used as a part of the punishment that was put on those convicted of “infamous” crimes and was a part of their civil deaths. Although, many people like myself believe that the limits that are being put on felons

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A recently released felon making the right moves then we are denying them the very basic human right to vote. In 2010, out of the voting population, 2.5% were denied the right to vote because of a previous felony conviction. In recent years, 28 states have passed laws that allow convicted felons to vote but only once they have completed their sentence and anything that was given to do upon being released from prison. Once released, this means that they have worked off the punishment that

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The Voting Rights Act was passed in order to stop states from prohibiting any laws or actions that could potentially hinder the ability for a minority to vote (DMS Chapter 3). This act gives the federal government more power in how states run elections. Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act is what defines a state’s ability to not being able to pass a discriminatory disenfranchisement law. This section centers on voter dilution, which are the processes that make voting for candidates difficult for racial or ethnic minorities (Clark lecture, Jan. 25). On the basis of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, felony disenfranchisement laws can be seen as a form of voter dilution because these laws are disproportionally affecting a large number of African American minorities in prison.

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America, known as “the land of the free and the home of the brave,” is a country recognized for it’s freedom and rights. As a country, at almost every turn, America has shown it’s responsibility and priority towards it citizens. Specifically, with the opportunity to vote. Being able to vote for presidents, senators, and governors is a very strong right that Americans hold in their hand and for many others in neighboring countries, this can be a sheer dream. Recently, Ohio passed a new law, stating that citizens who did not regularly vote for four years and were unresponsive to any kind of sent notice, would be removed from voting rolls; therefore, the name, “Use it or Lose it.”

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Prisoner goes to High Court to win right to vote Kenneth Nguyen April 25, 2007 Should prisoners be allowed to vote? Age readers decide. A prisoner is bringing a High Court case that could secure a historic right to vote for 20,000 of Australia 's prisoners.

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Throughout American history we have gradually permitted different groups of Americans to vote. Many would argue that we have greatly expanded the right to vote in America and we are well on our way to authorizing as many people to participate in our democracy as possible. Though we have expanded voting rights, we have a dark history in our country of voter suppression that is still a contentious debate today. No longer are there poll taxes or literacy tests, instead they have been subtlety replaced by photo ID laws and impediments to voter registration. In a way today’s voter suppression is the new face of Jim Crow.

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It would not be plausible to trust someone who has committed a violent crime to vote responsibly. Secondly, felons should be prohibited from voting due to not knowing if they have truly changed since serving their sentence. Drugs are also known to be easier

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