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. The Washington Times, a well-known and widely read newspaper, wrote an article “Fed judges: Felons should get vote.” In this article, the author(s) argued on the fact that felons should have the right to vote. They had argued that the reason felons were being denied the right to voting is because disenfranchising felons was “intended to discriminate against minorities.” On the other hand, disenfranchising felons was never the intention of lawmakers, but there may have been a disproportionate impact on some racial groups because there are more minorities that are in prison than there are of other races. The Los Angeles Times, another well-known and widely read newspaper, has argued in their article “Felons have lost their right to vote” that “at any point in time there are always going to be some groups that commit more crimes than others, but that doesn't make the laws racist-just as the fact that more crimes are committed by men doesn't make criminal laws sexist.” The fact that more men than women commit crimes doesn't mean that our laws are sexist, it just simply means that because of the cr... ... middle of paper ... ... June 2010. Web. 16 Jan. 2012. articles.latimes.com/2010/jun/13/opinion/la-oe-browne-felonvote-20100613>. Feser, Edward. "Felons Should Not Be Allowed to Vote." Democracy. Mike Wilson, Ed. Opposing Viewpoints® Series. Greenhaven Press, 2006. Edward Feser, "Should Felons Vote?" City Journal, Spring 2005. Copyright © 2005 by the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research. Reproduced by permission. Wadley, Jared. "Panel: Ex-felons Should Be Allowed to Vote." January 9, 2012 | The University Record Online. 24 Jan. 2004. Web. 16 Jan. 2012. 12.shtml>. Times Wednesday, The Washington. "Fed Judges: Felons Should Get Vote - Washington Times." Washington Times - Politics, Breaking News, US and World News. 6 Jan. 2010. Web. 16 Jan. 2012. vote/>.
Consequently, Alexander successfully persuades the reader into believing her argument, as she mentions that after being in jail, they lose some of the public benefits that the government offers for low-income individuals; for instance, she mentions a story of a man with felony conviction, denied to even try to fill in an application for section 8 (Alexander 144). This is a good example that subjects legalized discrimination; ex-felons are being excluded and denied the chance to regenerate their lives and start moving towards a better future, just as Jim Crow where African Americans were deprived of the right of housing. Another example that perfectly supports her argument is when she talks about difficulty for someone with a criminal background to find a job, for a fact when you fill in a job application they ask about your criminal background. For example, Alexander mentions, “a 2002 survey of 122 California employers revealed that although most employers would consider hiring someone convicted of a misdemeanor offense…less than a quarter of employers were willing to consider hiring someone convicted...”(Alexander 149). This is a
There have been different outcomes for different racial and gender groups in sentencing and convicting criminals in the United States criminal justice system. Experts have debated the relative importance of different factors that have led to many of these inequalities. Minority defendants are charged with ...
In 1981 women only made up around 4 percent of inmates in prison. The criminal justice world is very set on race. For example in the book Criminal Justice a brief introduction by Frank Schmalleger, it says that race is so marginalized that even though in the united states population there are only about 13 percent of African Americans, African Americans that are incarcerated account for somewhere around 50 percent. This shows that African American women are more likely to encounter incarceration has opposed to white women. This is also why women’s prisons are study less than men’s prisons. Because there are less violent crimes committed in a women’s prison and there are significantly less women inmates than men. .However, this could soon change in the years coming if the crime rate in women keeps rising like it
In her book The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, Michelle Alexander states that we still use our criminal justice system to “label people of color ‘criminals’ and then engage i...
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.
One of the more controversial debates in today’s political arena, especially around election times, is that of felon disenfranchisement. The disenfranchisement of felons, or the practice of denying felons and ex-felons the right to vote, has been in practice before the colonization of America and traces back to early England; however, it has not become so controversial and publicized until recent times. “In today’s political system, felons and ex-felons are the only competent adults that are denied the right to vote; the total of those banned to vote is approximately 4.7 million men and women, over two percent of the nation’s population” (Reiman 3).
Michelle Alexander, in her book, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, examines the development of institutionalized racism following the war on drugs, and how it has created what Alexander calls a “New Jim Crow era,” or a racial caste in the US. Alexander describes this undercaste as, “a lower caste of individuals who are permanently barred by law and custom from mainstream society,” (Alexander, 32). Not only is this because of mass incarceration rates among black men, but extends to the effects that these branded felons must face beyond prison walls. By checking the well known box on any application, it has become legal for almost any institution or corporation to discriminate against a marked felon. Alexander notes that, “Once you’re labeled a felon, the old forms of discrimination – employment discrimination, housing discrimination, denial of the right to vote, denial of educational opportunity, denial of food stamps and other public benefits, and exclusio...
Skiba, Katherine. "House Republicans and Democrats Debate the Economy - US News and World Report." US News & World Report | News & Rankings | Best Colleges, Best Hospitals, and More. US News, 26 Feb. 2008. Web. 22 July 2011. .
The United States is one of the only few democratic countries that disenfranchises convicted felons. An estimated 5.85 million people charged with a felony are banned from voting. Moreover, felon disenfranchisement laws are a form of racial discrimination because a large percentage of felons are Hispanic, Latino or African American that have been incarcerated as a result of racial profiling. Denying felons from voting is unconstitutional since the right to vote and cast a ballot is supposed to be the cornerstone of democracy. Felons who have completed their sentence should be restored their right to vote as they should be able to participate in elections just like every other citizen. Despite being charged with a felony, felons are also American
The Washington Post. Why Can't Ex-Felons Vote? Lewis, Gregory. The Species of the World.
...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 most states ex-felons are not allowed to vote. This takes away a large portion of the voting population because of how many ex-felons there are right now and the many more that will be in the future. Ex-felons may also have a very hard time finding a job or a place to live. Legally landlords are allowed to deny an ex-felon. In Carbondale Illinois rental properties owners “Home Rentals” does background checks to make sure that none of their potential renters are felons. If they are felons Home Rentals claims that they will deny them the privilege of living in one of their properties. Ex-felons may also have a hard time finding jobs. Not many employers are willing to employ ex-felons for the fear of more crime or less commitment. Though denying these ex-felons jobs will not help the economy, only giving them jobs can help that.
South University Online. (2013). POL2076: American Government: Week 4: People and Politics—Interest Groups. Retrieved from http://myeclassonline.com
... Washington, DC. Congressional Research Service. Marosi, Richard. A. (2011, July 26)
...niors who brought us into this generation. We deserve to be protected as much as any other human race. Our tax dollars spent on housing inmates are a lot cheaper for us to pay when one considers the cost of irreparable pain and suffering, of a victim who falls prey to a parolee who had no intention of reversing his or her former lifestyle and recommitted their life to crime. One cannot put a price tag on scarred lives. It would be worth every penny to keep these criminals behind bars until they have completed their full sentences, if it meant even saving one innocent life, or sparing someone an unforgettable damaging experience. In conclusion, parole serves to benefit the inmate who is seeking his or her freedom, while society seldomly benefits from progress or efforts implemented by parolees in the community. We must understand that parole is a privilege, not a right. We must take into consideration that if almost half of the population that is released on parole returns to prison; parole is not working and should be abolished. Law abiding citizens have earned their right to freedom, and criminals have earned their right to confinement, and should remain that way, as sentenced.