This post is based on a discussion question from my American Politics class. I think it brings up important aspects of disenfranchisement and systemic discrimination. Please feel free to comment or share your opinion. Also, I encourage everyone to watch the TED talk that the post is referring to.
- In most cases, convicted
felons’ rights are restored to them after completion of their sentences,
except for the right to vote. In view of the large number of people
incarcerated in the United States, do you think it’s time we changed this
policy? Explain.
I feel
that once felons have made restitution for their criminal actions, their right
to vote should be restored, like all of their other rights. This becomes
especially true when we look at the disproportion amount of poor people and
minorities that end up in prison and their treatment in the justice system.
Taking away one of their only voices in the political system only increases the
prejudice and discrimination of this group. I was just listening to a TED Talk
today that stated:
“The
United States now has the highest rate of incarceration in the
world. We have seven million people on probation and parole. And mass
incarceration, in my judgment, has fundamentally changed our
world. In poor communities, in communities of color there is this
despair, there is this hopelessness that is being shaped by these
outcomes. One out of three black men between the ages of 18 and
30 is in jail, in prison, on probation or parole. In urban
communities across this country -- Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Baltimore,
Washington -- 50 to 60 percent of all young men of color are in jail
or prison or on probation or parole…
…Our
system isn't just being shaped in these ways that seem to be distorting
around race, they're also distorted by poverty. We have a system of
justice in this country that treats you much better if you're rich
and guilty than if you're poor and innocent…
… It's
interesting to me. We're looking at some very interesting developments in
our work. My state of Alabama, like a number of states, actually
permanently disenfranchises you if you have a criminal
conviction. Right now in Alabama 34 percent of the black male
population has permanently lost the right to vote. We're actually
projecting in another 10 years the level of disenfranchisement will
be as high as it's been since prior to the passage of the Voting Rights
Act. And there is this stunning silence.” –Bryan Stevenson
 |
| Image source: http://witnessla.com/supreme-court/2012/taylorwalker/new-felon-disenfranchisement-report-sd-drops-reentry-program-that-cuts-recidivism-and-states-to-execute-mentally-disabled/ |
In
Alabama 34% of black men can’t vote?! Who will represent this group in the
polls? This is part of the systemic racism that has gone unnoticed or not
talked about by a majority of this country that drives people who are trying to
make changes go crazy. How is this justice?
Of course, the argument sometimes shift to "well, those people broke the law" or "they are criminals", but then you'd have to look at the whole system of racial profiling, policing practices, and the justice system as a whole. And if you wanted to go even further, what systems in our society are still in place to keep people down and to perpetuate negative attitudes against certain groups of people.
TED
Talk: We Need to Talk about an Injustice, featuring Bryan Stevenson
https://www.ted.com/talks/bryan_stevenson_we_need_to_talk_about_an_injustice/transcript?language=en
-Disenfranchisement is the revocation of the right of suffrage (the right to vote) of a person or group of people, or through practices, prevention of a person exercising the right to vote.
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