http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/time-let-convicted-felons-vote-holder-says-n26906 I don't take issue with the admin's stance, but rather with having the AG act as a transparent political hack. Holder continues to bring the office to new lows."Attorney General Eric Holder is calling for an end to state laws that bar convicted felons from voting, even after they have served their sentences."By perpetuating the stigma and isolation imposed on formerly incarcerated individuals, these laws increase the likelihood they will commit future crimes," Holder said Tuesday at a Washington, D.C., symposium on sentencing laws.Holder said the restrictions bar 5.8 million Americans from casting a ballot, including 2.2 million African-Americans."Nearly one in 13 African-American adults are banned from voting because of these laws. In three states -- Florida, Kentucky, and Virginia -- that ratio climbs to one in five," he said.Holder called the laws a vestige of post-Civil War racial discrimination, with a disproportionately high impact on minority communities.The laws were not intended to improve public safety but rather "to stigmatize, shame, and shut out a person who had been found guilty of a crime."Justice Department figures say Florida's law has disenfranchised roughly 10 percent of the population. Similar laws in Mississippi bar 8 percent of the population from voting, the figures say.Three states -- Florida, Iowa, and Kentucky -- permanently disenfranchise convicted felons, unless the government approves an individual request to have rights restored. Eight others -- Alabama, Arizona, Delaware, Mississippi, Nevada, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wyoming -- bar at least some, though not all, convicted felons from voting.In most states, voting rights are restored after a sentence is served, though some also require completing terms of probation or parole. Nearly all states bar felons from voting while they remain in prison.
The system is now geared toward making it almost impossible for an individual to serve their sentence then return to society and become productive. One they get sucked into the system it's nearly impossible for them to get out. So, if you agree w/ Holder or not on this issue the larger concern is the creation of a system that fosters disenfranchisement and the perpetuation of the criminal cycle.
The system is now geared toward making it almost impossible for an individual to serve their sentence then return to society and become productive. One they get sucked into the system it's nearly impossible for them to get out. So, if you agree w/ Holder or not on this issue the larger concern is the creation of a system that fosters disenfranchisement and the perpetuation of the criminal cycle.
my only beef is with parading the AG out as a political operative, but to the point you raise, can you find a link to any article showing that a convicted felon committed a crime upon release because he/she was denied the right to vote? How about a potential employer deciding not to hire a released felon because he/she couldn't vote, have a link to one of those articles? My guess is that the "stigma" comes with being convicted of committing a crime NOT losing the ability to vote.
The system is now geared toward making it almost impossible for an individual to serve their sentence then return to society and become productive. One they get sucked into the system it's nearly impossible for them to get out. So, if you agree w/ Holder or not on this issue the larger concern is the creation of a system that fosters disenfranchisement and the perpetuation of the criminal cycle.
I don't completely disagree with what you are saying, but isn't there a process by which a convicted felon can have their rights restored?
there is, its alluded to in the article
