On Monday, Senator Bernie Sanders stated that all felons, including terrorists and rapists, should be able to vote while serving out their prison sentences. Here is what he said…
⇒ LISTEN TO BERNIE SANDERS HERE ⇐
Bernie had me right up to the point he stated, “even if they are in jail.”
Let’s take a moment to talk about what prison is suppose to be.
Prison is intended to punish wrongdoings through what is called “civil death”, which means the convicted is removed from society and losses all (or almost all) of his or her civil rights.
Many crimes… like murder, rape, and theft… are a violation of the rights of another person. Others actions are violation against society as a whole.
So, it is not only appropriate for people in prison to not have the right to vote, it is a just consequence of wrongful behavior.
However, I fully support restoring the voting rights of felons who have served their time and paid for their crime. And yes, even for those who have commited to most heinous crimes.
I realize this is an emotionally charged issue. We almost can’t help but look at people who have committed crimes, especially certain crimes like terrorism or rape, as demons and monsters. I get that.
But think about this for a moment, if a person has not been sufficiently rehabilitated to have their rights fully restored, what are they doing out of jail?
For the most part, after a person has paid their “debt to society”, America does restore their natural and constitutional rights. So, why not voting?
For some reason, we like to cherry pick certain inherent rights to hold back.
If we believe ex-felons lack enough trustworthiness and responsibility to vote, and are prone to continued criminal behavior, then releasing them into society is doing nothing but allowing a predator free to hunt for prey.
Yet, if a person has served their time and paid their debt to society, withholding any rights creates a group of second-class citizens, who are not fully a part of society.
Additionally, by not allowing them to vote, we are denying ex-felons a basic fundamental rights guaranteed to citizens of the United States.
Voting rights play a major role in restoring a person as a member of the community.
I would argue, after going through rehabilitation and reintegration, ex-felons are fully part of society and that comes with the same privileges as anyone else.
Without a full restoration of rights, ex-felons remain less than, an outsider, and perpetually punished.
What do you think America?
Timothy Alexander 