*frowns*

[conuly]

From an article on inmate voting in the Times...

"I just was horrified when I realized they could vote," said Mary Black Andrews, a state representative from York, Me., whose first husband was a Maine state trooper who was shot and killed in the line of duty. "I just don't think that they deserve that right if they've been convicted of a violent crime."

*blinks*

I'm sorry, please explain the logic. Somebody commits a violent crime and suddenly their ability to reason is horrifically impaired AND they have no stake in this country at all?

Moreover, rights aren't something you deserve or earn. They're something you get just by being there.

I'm not arguing about this, seriously. I'm sure people can come up with many more coherant arguments against inmate voting than how "horrified" you are. I'll just sit here and stew a while.

Comments

[ser-kai.livejournal.com]

One of the things you give up when convicted is the rights of citizenship.
Voting is a right of citizenship, therefore, it's wrong for inmates to be able to vote.
Better?

[conuly]

Do you give up the rights of citizenship? Why? Are there some rights of citizenship you maintain? (Do you still pay taxes?)

[ser-kai.livejournal.com]

Yes, because society has deemed you unfit for the term of a sentence & placed you in an institution that seriously infringes on your rights as a citizen.
I don't know about the states(I doubt it or only for the period of time you were free in the fiscal year) but I'm pretty sure they don't, here due to lack of income.

[ladyshrew.livejournal.com]

That, and really, they cost taxpayers lots of money. :-P

The other major argument is that they have infringed on other people's rights, so why should they be granted full rights?

I don't know. If I'm going to support a group that should have equal rights, inmates are pretty low on my priority, personally.

But yes, that person needs to learn how to do more than scream about how horrified she is. :-P

[conuly]

I don't know. If I'm going to support a group that should have equal rights, inmates are pretty low on my priority, personally.

That is a fact :)

But... *shrugs* It just seems that laws that prevent inmates from voting favor those who do not want to see poor/black people from voting - we all know these groups are disproportionately represented in prisons, and disproportionately convicted of violent crimes. In addition, many inmates are mislead, they think they can never vote again, even after they're released from prison, which, depending on where they are, may not be true. So a huge chunk of potential voters aren't voting, not because they don't want to but because they think they can't.

[wakasplat.livejournal.com]

I do think inmates' rights are worth supporting, because I don't think that people become non-people as soon as they do something wrong. (And not all inmates have done anything wrong, and even when they have there's a wide range of how wrong.) Taking away more of people's rights than absolutely necessary leads to more of the desperation that can drive violent and other convictable crimes. Not less.

[ladyshrew.livejournal.com]

Well, I agree there's a spectrum. And for small crimes and stuff, yeah, they definitely should, at the very least, be voting once they're out. I'm not sure I care one way or another if they're voting while they're in.

But for... well, murder, for instance, that person has taken away someone else's right to *live*, so I don't really think they in any way deserve equal rights.

And again, I do think the compassion would be better served elsewhere... such as in preventing these people from committing crimes in the first place, thus protecting their rights.

[ladyshrew.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I see your point, but... I'm just not moved to very much pity for them. I'd be just as happy if ex-cons weren't voting anyway.

The racial or potential racial issues here need to be dealt with separately, in my opinion.

[precia.livejournal.com]

But yes, that person needs to learn how to do more than scream about how horrified she is.

Actually, Mary Black Andrews has spent much of her political career (she's been a state representative for as long as I can remember) championing this kind of cause. She's done a lot of work helping families who have suffered tragedies similar to the one she went through.

She's also been an instrumental advocate for many bills concerning felon's/victim's rights in Maine. I believe she's been working hard on this inmate voting issue since 2000 or so.

Aside from the current issue, and her less than persuasive quote, she's a damn good woman to have on your side if you have an issue that needs to be resolved.