Felony disenfranchisement is legally revoking citizens, who have been imprisoned for felony charges, of their right to vote. States are currently allowed, by law, to forbid felons from voting. In thirty-eight states, including the District of Columbia, felons’ rights to vote are restored immediately after they have completed their sentences and probational consequences (“Felony Voting Rights”). In other states, ex-cons must go through a process to get their voting rights back, which they have to apply for (“Felony Voting Rights”). Felony disenfranchisement is another way for our government to discriminate racially because African-American males are statistically the most affected by this law. I have numerous statists and a personal story from …show more content…
In 2013, the total number of prisoners was 1, 516, 879 (“Felon Voting ProCon.org”). 549,100 of these prisoners were African-American, and 37.2 percent of the total number of prisoners were African-American males (“Felon Voting ProCon.org”). This statistic clearly shows whom the government is trying to hurt the most with felony disenfranchisement. I do understand why most people feel this is a preposterous argument because African-American males are not the only people affected by this law. A perfect example explaining my response to this counterargument is what Alabama’s constitutional convention president said to his fellow constitution convention board members in the debate to expand their disenfranchisement laws in 1901 (“Staples”). He said to them, “the crime of wife-beating alone would disqualify 60% of the Negroes” (“Staples”). By saying this, he admits that blacks are not the only race that abuses their wives, but they would be prosecuted heavier than any other race. This shows that in order to keep the white vote in the majority, despite the casualties, they would do whatever was
Most black Americans are under the control of the criminal justice today whether in parole or probation or whether in jail or prison. Accomplishments of the civil rights association have been challenged by mass incarceration of the African Americans in fighting drugs in the country. Although the Jim Crow laws are not so common, many African Americans are still arrested for very minor crimes. They remain disfranchised and marginalized and trapped by criminal justice that has named them felons and refuted them their rights to be free of lawful employment and discrimination and also education and other public benefits that other citizens enjoy. There is exists discernment in voting rights, employment, education and housing when it comes to privileges. In the, ‘the new Jim crow’ mass incarceration has been described to serve the same function as the post civil war Jim crow laws and pre civil war slavery. (Michelle 16) This essay would defend Michelle Alexander’s argument that mass incarcerations represent the ‘new Jim crow.’
Parole is a controversial issue because its vase ways to debate the challenges and problems that will exist. It’s like a side effect to medication based on one’s effectiveness belief. In like manner, the public media allows others who aren’t immediately effected to become tertiary, and secondary victims. It is the door to open opinions. An inmate is released from a sentence given parole and then assigned a parole and probation officer. The one thing that will make probation and parole successful is the supervision of the program and rehabilitation or residential treatment center. This will support the goal to maximize the good behavior and minimize the harmful behaviors of individuals. Probation is a good program because it’s a form of rehabilitation that gives inmates elevate space to obey rules and regulations. On the contrary, probation is risky just like any new diet plan that people use to
“Many people say that serious crime committers have shown they aren’t trustworthy” (Clegg). After a felon is released from prison, the expectation is that they will shape up and return to their lives, however most of their lives are completely changed. When a felon is released from prison, they should retain their same rights as a US citizen as well as their right to vote and serve in Jury Duty, because they served their time and cannot be held in double jeopardy, and are valuable assets to the country for work and less homelessness. When felons are released from prison, they should retain the same rights as the average US citizen as well as the right to vote. Nonviolent felons who have served time for more than a year for misdemeanors are unable to vote because their judgment can no longer be trusted.
The feelings of allowing felons to vote is chilling; those who have been to prison have committed crimes and are out to get their rights back. But it is clear that felons should be “disenfranchised because they have broken the laws,” says Edward Feser, a philosophy professor and writer. Yet people are still questioning whether it is moral to keep felons from getting the rights to vote. Disenfranchising felons is unintentional in racial issues, and is used to punish felons to teach them that once they've broken the laws, they have lost their voting rights as well, and it would also keep felons from violating fellow citizens' voting rights.
For a majority of the 20th century, sentencing policies had a minimal effect on social inequality (Western and Pettit 2002). In the early 1970s, this began to change when stricter sentencing policies were enacted (Western and Pettit 2002). Sentencing laws such as determinate sentencing, truth-in-sentencing, mandatory minimum sentencing, and three-strikes laws were enacted with the purpose of achieving greater consistency, certainty, and severity in sentencing (National Research Council 2014). Numerous inequalities involving race, ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status have generated an unprecedented rate of incarceration in America, especially among minority populations (Western and Pettit 2010). With numerous social inequalities currently
In the United States 2.2 million citizens are incarcerated on felony charges. Laws in America prohibit felons from voting. As a result, on Election Day 5.3 million citizens of America are disenfranchised because of crimes they once committed. Though they once broke the law, they have served their time and have been punished adequately in accordance with the American Justice System. Felons should regain full voting rights after their stint in prison.
Many people believe that felons do not deserve the right to vote. For these people, voting is not an inherent right; rather it is a privilege given to deserving people that wish to make a positive change to their lives. Some believe that, “…there is no reason for a felon to vote or to debate about whether or not they have that right…they made the choice to break the law, so why should they have any say in making it?” {Siegel} In this point of view, giving felons the right to vote is similar to rewarding them. With the right to vote, felons are still able to sway decisions regarding the lives of a society they are no longer a part of. Felons are meant to be punished, stripped of numerous rights including that of voting. Punishments, then, are made to restrict a person, not give them more freedom and decision.
Nationwide, blacks are incarcerated at 8.2 times the rate of whites (Human Rights Watch, 2000).” This difference in proportionality does not necessarily involve direct discrimination; it can be explained by a number of combined factors. Correctional agencies do not control the number of minorities who enter their facilities. Therefore, the disparity must come from decisions made earlier in the criminal justice process. Law enforcement, court pre-sentencing policies and procedures, and sentencing all have a direct effect on the overrepresentation of minorities in the correctional population.
Individuals convicted of a felony should not lose their right to vote. The right to vote is a birth rights for citizens born in this country. This right is taken for granted by many and is exercised by far too few. As the United States prepares for its 57th presidential election over five million of its citizens will be denied their right to participate in the electoral process. Why would such a large number of people be denied a constitutional right?
Although our present day society still questions whether the rights of the Individual should outweigh the public order or the social order of our country should outweigh the individual rights, it has enlightened me to a distorted vision and a compromised system and questionable Leadership. “African- American men comprise less than 6% of the U.S. population and almost one-half of its criminal prisons.” Quoted by the Bureau of Justice statistics. When research is conducted by someone other than yourself yields such great crippling results, it does hold true to that which began before our awakening.
...he right to vote. I made a ten question survey that asked questions about letting convicted felons have the right to vote in major elections throughout America. Thirteen out of thirty high school students said that convicted felons should have the right to vote because they are American citizens. The other seventeen people I surveyed said that they should not have the right to vote because they had their chance to perform correctly in society and failed miserably. As you can now see, I have given you many reasons to see that convicted felons should not have the right to vote. They cannot be trusted with such a responsibility as voting for this country’s next leader.
In view of all the historical failures in Corrections and the changes with what is criminalized, should Americans transition to more probations and Community Correction programs for guilty offenders or continue the status quo? With the goal of corrections to being to control the unwanted action of the public, is incarceration the best means to insure compliance with the rules of society or could there be better ways to approach the problem? With a suffering economy, new ways must be sought to correct unwanted behaviors and treat offenders. Since corrections covers such a broad area, we will consider only the State of Alabama in an effort to narrow the scope of this document. For our purpose, a working definition of corrections
These statistics demonstrate that racialized mass incarceration exists in the U.S. There are a few reasons why African Americans are discriminated against by the legal system. The primary cause is inequitable protection by the law and unequal enforcement of it. Unequal protection is when the legal system offers less protection to African Americans that are victimized by whites. It is unequal enforcement because discriminatory treatment of African Americans that are labeled as criminal suspects is more accepted.
Since felons aren’t allowed to vote, 5.3 million people aren’t allowed to go to the polls during an election, whether it is a national or a local election. All of those votes could really affect a big election, especially one like voting for president. In her article, Forgotten Citizens Must Be Given Back Their Right to Vote, Sasha Abramsky states that one in four black men throughout much of the South are unable to vote, [along with] a high percentage of poverty-level whites and Latinos. As a result of this, the electorate is shrunken; as it shrinks, election results don’t reflect the full will or need of the population. Allowing nonviolent felons to vote again would increase the number of people voting and better reflect the need of the population.
According to the Oxford Living Dictionaries, disenfranchisement is defined as "The state of being deprived of a right or privilege, especially the right to vote". Although many countries restrict felons from voting, the US is unique because it is virtually the only country that permanently strips felons of their right to vote (Manza and Uggen 2). "In Ancient Greece, the status of atimia [literally without honor, a form of disenfranchisement] was imposed upon criminal offenders. This status carried the loss of many citizenship rights, including the right to participate in the polis" (Manza and Uggen 1). Those who support the restoration of ex-felons rights may be wondering how people even allow this to happen. It is important to understand