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Murderers, rapists, and those convicted with aggravated assault, have obviously not made wise decisions in their lives, yet they are allowed to vote. According to www.felonvoting.procon.org, currently, in Michigan, individuals who have been convicted of a felon are allowed to vote after their term of incarceration. Some think that those who have a felony from a violent crime should not be able to vote, regardless if they have completed their sentence or not. However, other people think that even though an individual with a violent felony may vote after their incarceration period; although, in some states, the felon may have to wait a certain amount of years before they are able to vote. I think that people with violent felonies such as murder, rape, aggravated assault, or battery should not be able to vote whatsoever.
Out of the United States of America, Michigan ranks #6 in having the most violent crimes. Some violent felonies include: murders, rapes, aggravated assault, battery, vehicular homicide, etc. According to publisher, Scripps Howard in his publication Felon Voting Laws states that in Michigan along with thirty-three other states prohibit felons from voting while in prison or on parole; but felons are allowed to vote after completing parole or being released from prison (Howard). I think that people in Michigan with violent felonies should not be allowed to vote, like Alabama and eleven other states. In an article written by Michael McLaughlin, Felon Voting Laws Disenfranchise5.85 Million Americans With Criminal Records: The Sentencing Project, from the Huffington Post, it says that not allowing people with violent felonies to vote hurts African Americans more than other races, saying that 7% are African Americans tha...
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"Felons." Proquest. Gannett Co., Inc., 3 Mar. 2004. Web. 21 Jan. 2014.
The Monitor's View. "Voting Rights for Ex-Felons: [ALL Edition]." Editorial. [Boston, Massachusetts] 1 Mar. 2005: n. pag. Proquest. The Christian Science Monitor. Web. 21 Jan. 2014.
The Washington Times. "No Felon Voting." The Washington Times. The Washington Times LLC, 13 Feb. 2006. Web. 21 Jan. 2014.
Haygood, Ryan Paul. "Free To Vote." Proquest. Atlanta Inquirer, 26 June 2004. Web. 21 Jan. 2014.
Violent Crime Up, Property Crime Down." FBI. FBI, 16 Sept. 2013. Web. 09 Feb. 2014.
"State Felon Voting Laws." ProConorg Headlines. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2014.
McLaughlin, Michael. "Felon Voting Laws Disenfranchise 5.85 Million Americans With Criminal Records: The Sentencing Project." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 12 July 2012. Web. 11 Feb. 2014.
Both property crime, and violent crime, which this article is focused on, has decreased in District B-2, of which Mission Hill is a part of, by 40% over the past decade. The greatest decline was in aggravated assault, a 67% change from 1993 through 2002.
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.
Felon voting laws limit the restrictions for a felon to vote on any election. “Felon voting has not been federally regulated because some people argue that Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act can be tied to felon disenfranchisement and the Congress has the authority to legislate felon voting in federal elections.” Felon disenfranchisement is excluding people otherwise eligible to vote from voting due to conviction of a criminal offence, usually restricted to the more serious class of crimes, felonies. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures and The Sentencing Project, 1 in 40 adults were unable to vote due to a felony conviction in the 2008 elections. One purpose of the felon voting laws is the uncertainty of trusting
Laws that prohibit felons from voting are a punishment above and beyond the one handed out by the judicial system. There is no uniformity to the laws barring convicted felons from voting. Laws vary. greatly from state to state. Almost every state prevents incarcerated felons from voting.
Cohen, L. E. & Felson, M. (1979). “Social change and crime rate trends: A routine activities approach,” American Sociological Review 44:588-608.
Criminal disenfranchisement is defined as the loss of the right to vote by a person convicted of or sentenced to imprisonment for a felony. Since before the civil war, this practice has been a part of the United States justice system mostly as a means to handle the racial issues with voting but then also in regards to the felons and rebels that participated in the Southern “rebellion” during the Civil War. This practice has recently gained some popularity since a debate has developed as to whether it is unconstitutional or not. Is voting a right or a privilege?
The root of Felon Disenfranchisement can be traced back to Greek and Roman laws. Where any person convicted of an infamous crime would lose his or her right to participate in polis. In Rome they would lose their right to participate in suffrage and to serve in the Roman legions. With the founding of the United States of America, the US Constitution gave the right to establish voting laws to the states. From 1776 - 1821 eleven states included felony disenfranchisement in their laws (Voter Registration Protection Act). By 1868 when the fourteenth Amendment was enacted eighteen states had adopted disenfranchisement laws. After the Civil War felony Disenfranchisement laws were used along with poll taxes and literary test to exclude African Americans from voting. The right to vote is considered to be one of the fundamental rights of citizenship in the United States. This right is more than just the right to mark a piece of paper and drop it in a box or the right to pull a lever in a voting booth. The right to vote includes the right to have a ballot counted for as a legal voting citizen. Although this right is considered fundamental, restrictions have been placed on this right. The main restriction is placed on persons convicted of a felony conviction all felonies not just infamous ones. Today on Election Day, as Americans wait in line to cast their vote over 4.65 million people are denied this most fundamental democratic right because of a past or present felony conviction.
Travis, J., & Waul, M. (2002). Reflections on the crime decline: Lessons for the future. Proceedings from the Urban Institute Crime Decline Forum (pp. 1-38). Washington, D. C.: Urban Institute Justice Policy Center.
“There is a widespread concern that the level and type of crime reported in the media present a distorted view of the real level of crime in the community” (Media portrayals of crime, 2000). If a crime is portrayed as ‘out of control’ or perceived as ‘dangerous’ to a community through the media, it could create social repercussions, such as isolation of consumers who believe that their community is in a high-crime or high-violence area. Statistics recorded from the Australian Institute of Criminology confirms property crime, such as break and enter, burglary, vehicle theft and shoplifting are continually being reported at a higher rate than violent crime (Media portrayals of crime, 2000). In 2013 alone, there were approximately 739,317 property offences in total (homicide incidents, 2017). Therefore, the increase in property offences in society was the highest recorded in 2013, compared to violent crimes that are decreasing in a total of 151,714 in the same reviewed period. In addition, this evidence shows that the majority of crime in our society is not of a violent nature.
...dden him from voting. He can’t also serve on jury and can’t become a member of the Florida bar (Knafo). The law says that when you become a felon, you get all your voting rights taken away from you for the rest of your life (Knafo). At least every person of any race can vote.
Taking away or relinquishing back the right for a convicted felon to vote I found quite a bit of information about. As far as any personal experience in this subject I do not have any, however my interest was sparked when finding that there were more than 5.3 million Americans (1 out or 40 adults) unable to vote due to a felony conviction in 2008. Some questions I may ask in this paper would be, “What is the probability that a felon will receive their voting rights back depending on what state the crime was committed?, Where did the “civil death” concept come from?, What are the charges or crimes that will
Snyder, Michael. "Crime Is Getting Worse: Violent Crime In America Increased By 15 Percent Last Year." Infowars. Infowars.com, 25 Oct. 2013. Web. 08 Dec. 2013.
Eric Holder’s proposition along with that of Mark Schmitt’s “Right to Vote” Amendment would not only protect the rights of ex-convicts - they would protect the voting rights of every American citizen. A wise man once said "If we lose freedom here, there is no place to escape to. This is the last stand on Earth." (Ronald Reagan). If America wishes to remain free from future (and current) abuses of power, she needs the “Right to Vote” directly amended into the constitution in order to insure that Americas leaders are always elected for the people, and by the people.
The U.S. Department of Labor (2011) reported the national average of unemployment for 2008 was 5.8 percent. The rate dramatically increased in 2009 with an average of 9.3 percent and 9.6 percent for 2010. While unemployment rates have increased, the FBI’s preliminary reports for 2010 show that law enforcement agencies across the U.S. have reported a decrease of 6.2 percent in the number of violent crimes for the first 6 months of 2010 when compared to figures reported for the same time in 2009. The violent crime category includes rape, murder, robbery, and aggravated result. The number of property crimes also decreased 2.8 percent when compared to the same time last year. Property crimes include burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft. Arson decreased 14.6 percent when compared to the same time periods of 2009 (FBI, 2011).