Blog post 4-essay 3

November 9 2016

If prisoners were not given the right to vote, it would be because their judgment could be slightly impaired and most prisoners would have no way of knowing anything about the candidates or the election. Also, prison is a punishment, which translates to loss of certain amenities. Jonathan Aiken claims that "The main point of a prison sentence is to show the offender and society as a whole that criminal behavior results in loss of freedom and most of the rights that freedom offers." (Aiken 1) So, voting is a privilege. If a person is convicted, than that person should not get the right afforded to them. It also sounds like to him that prison is supposed to be a deterrence for the criminals in prison. How will giving them the right to vote change anything or deter from their conviction. Also, the prisoners judgment is impaired. If we don't let young children vote, then why should criminals be the exception? So the question is, do criminals belong in that category? And I think the answer is clearly yes. People who commit serious crimes have shown that they are not trustworthy." (Clegg) 






References:

Aitken, Jonathan. "Prisoners don't care about their right to vote." The Telegraph, 14 Dec. 2006. Accessed 9 Nov. 2016. www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1536945/Prisoners-dont-care-about-their-right-to-vote.html

President and General Counsel of the Center for Equal Opportunity
Debate held by the Legal Affairs Debate Club
Nov. 1, 2004

Blog 3 post-essay 3

November 5

Back to Life, Back to Reality

A third reason for prisoners being able to vote is the fact that it gives them a chance to be apart of reality again. In the sense that, they would feel like their vote matters or counts. If the government officials were to organize prisoners being able to vote, they would feel included. They wouldn't just feel like numbers in cage. It's like they are giving their opinion on the fate of our country but from inside a jail. The fact that they write down who they want for president is collected and sent off would mean something. It's not like the votes are going to be thrown away after they're submitted. At least, I hope not. Allowing prisoners to vote while they are in prison can actually make them feel like a person in society again, too. State Sen. Bettye Davis says, "It will keep many from returning to jail by being able to vote and participate in the community," Davis says.

Blog 2 post-essay 3

November 2 2016

What's Crime Got To Do With It?

Another reason for giving the prisoners the right to vote would be the, simple fact that the crimes they commit have nothing to do with an election. For instance, there are many people who are in prison who are wrongfully convicted. A quote from the article The Price of Freedom: What Happens to the Wrongfully Convicted? reads "Studies suggest that between 2.3% and 5% of those sitting in U.S. prisons are actually innocent" (Phillips 1) Every prisoner should receive the right to vote, especially if that person is sitting in prison and they are innocent. Letting the wrongfully convicted vote for a presidential candidate before they are released is a very reasonable compensation. Granted, all the lawyers, judges, and prosecutors "know" a person is imprisoned because at the time there was sufficient evidence. That person becomes wrongfully convicted when the lawyers and public defenders realize that they have a couple holes in their story. Therefore, the lawyers come to the conclusion that the person who was prosecuted and currently imprisoned did not commit the crime. Considering how long it takes to process the innocent prisoner out of jail, they should be given the right to vote while they are still in prison. Since there would be no way of knowing an innocent person just got sentenced to 10-20 years for a crime they did not commit, he/she must be notified immediately. One, that they have an appeal for their innocence and two, that they can vote. For instance, when their appeal date arrives, assuming the DNA was tested and they were innocent, right then and there the proper authorities or the lawyers must notify the inmate that he/she can vote for a candidate before they are released. From then, the inmate could choose whether or not they wanted to vote. Another point would be the fact that a crime a person commits could be for a valid reason. For instance a man goes into a convenience store and robs the cashier at gun point for the money in the register. Because of this, obviously, he gets charged and prosecuted. But, the man actually needed the money to feed his child and pay the light bill. So, if that was the situation then taking the right to vote away from him, would not only be unfair, but the two do no equate. Rob a store, sent to prison, voting rights taken away. There could be and most likely is a more probable disenfranchisement. Crime should not dictate an inmate's right to vote.

>Phillips, Kelly. "The Price of Freedom: What Happens to the Wrongfully Convicted?" Forbes, 1 May 2012: 15 pars. Accessed 2 Nov. 2016. www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2012/05/01/the-price-of-freedom-what-happens-to-the-wrongfully-convicted/#1245d8595b70