Should prisoners have the right to vote?

@Fil Albuquerque,

So you have no particular wrong tunes in mind that you claimed I play from time to time as a way of asserting something for no reasonable reason?

I take it that is what you mean.

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@spendius,

Oh spendi, everyone got your number already, even the new people.
You're just too belligerent, even for European standards Very Happy

As for the topic: no prisoners should not be allowed to vote! There is a reason they're in prison and they're stripped of the privilege to vote until they have become valuable members of society again. Until then, let them rot in hell....

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@CalamityJane,

Nice!

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@spendius,

Quote:

The mood and temper of the public in regard to the treatment of crime and criminals is one of the most unfailing tests of the civilisation of any country. A calm and dispassionate recognition of the rights of the accused against the state and even of convicted criminals against the state, a constant heart-searching by all charged with the duty of punishment, a desire and eagerness to rehabilitate in the world of industry of all those who have paid their dues in the hard coinage of punishment, tireless efforts towards the discovery of curative and regenerating processes and an unfaltering faith that there is a treasure, if only you can find it in the heart of every person – these are the symbols which in the treatment of crime and criminals mark and measure the stored up strength of a nation, and are the sign and proof of the living virtue in it.

Winston Churchill.

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Yeah, letting them 'rot in hell' will definitely contribute to their amazing turn around and magic transformation into 'valuable members of society' again.

I don't know what I think about prisoners having the right to vote, but I do know that a lot and I mean A LOT of people who are in prison are victims of horrible circumstance.

Like Dean, 27 years old. Shown how to sniff glue at the age of eight by his best friend's older brother. Mother was an alcoholic. Kicked out of his house and on the streets at 13. What would I have done if I'd been born in a situation like that with a genetic predisposition to addiction? Would I have fared any better? I don't know.
He has been rotting the hell of his addiction and homelessness for the past fourteen years.
Thankfully, those who are working with him in the prison have not consigned him to that rotting hell for the whole of his life and eternity, because he's ready to be helped now.
I pray for him and those like him every day.

Everyone in prison is not an evil serial killer.

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Should prisoners have the right to vote for a democrat?

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@CalamityJane,

In Germany, according to our constitution, prisoners have of course the right to vote ... with the exemption of those, when courts denied that basic right, e.g. with crimes against the electoral system, or if they have got a legal guardian for all affairs or if they have "committed an unlawful act in a state of insanity or diminished responsibility" and are in a mental hospital by court order.

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@Walter Hinteler,

Yes I know, Walter, but I live in the U.S. now and that made me cold and bitter towards criminals. Some of the most unspeakable crimes happen here and it's safe to say that the majority of criminals in prison never rehabilitate themselves.
There are exceptions, as aidan points out and her working in a prison, I do believe her, however, as long as they're imprisoned i.e. punished for a crime, they should not receive the privilege to vote. Once they have become a valuable part of society again, yes - until then, no!

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@spendius,

Funny coming from Churchill, spendius. Was this after the war crimes he's
committed and never tried for, as part of his penance?

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@CalamityJane,

CalamityJane wrote:

Once they have become a valuable part of society again, yes - until then, no!

That's the question: who is a "valuable part of society", and who decides it.

So, you can die in the USA as a soldier being younger than 21, fighting for freedom, the USA, for the US-society - but you can't vote ...

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@Walter Hinteler,

Walter Hinteler wrote:

So, you can die in the USA as a soldier being younger than 21, fighting for freedom, the USA, for the US-society - but you can't vote ...

Who said that soldiers cannot vote? We're talking about criminals in prison, Walter.

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@CalamityJane,

Because you can't vote until you're 21...

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@Mame,

No, Mame, it's 18. I still don't know what soldiers have to do with this topic
"should prisoners have the right to vote?"

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@CalamityJane,

My bad since I'd thought the voting age was 21. Sorry.

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@CalamityJane,

The digression was based on your "rot in hell" remark.

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This is all pretty hilarious. Should prisoners have the right to vote? Why not?

War criminals and felons regularly hold high office in the US. Many commit felonies and war crimes while they're in office. They not only retain their right to vote, they get pensions, toy boats, airports named after them.

If anyone should rot in hell, it should be these criminals.

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@Fil Albuquerque,

Fil Albuquerque wrote:

I think as a foreigner observer up to an extent I can see why Americans think the way they do in these kind of matters...American reality is often more harsh then European Reality...be it in Religion issues, be it crime rates, property protection etc, etc...not really a critic...initiative and boldness takes a price when it gets to the wrong side also !

We don't all think alike, though. Voter eligibility for people that break the law is a States rights issue -- no one state has the same law regarding allowing felons to vote as another state. Two of our states allow convicted felons to vote. They vote from prison. Some states allow convicted felons to vote after serving their sentences; some states ban convicted felons from voting permanently, even after they 'pay their debt to society'. A number of states restrict people convicted of misdemeanor crimes from voting.

There aren't any Federal laws which govern felons voting, so it just depends on where you live and where you choose to commit a crime.

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@CalamityJane,

Quote:

Until then, let them rot in hell....

The trick, when moving to a new country, is to not let yourself be dragged down to the lowest denominator, Jane, don't become an OmSig or a BillRM.

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@JTT,

I was wondering how long you would be with that JTT. There's a theory that the problem with prisons is that the wrong 2.5 million persons are in them. I presume you have some sympathy with it.

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@JTT,

Oh I won't, JTT. I am all for gun control and I am against the death penalty,
that eliminates OmSig and BillRM, however I am not for a modern penal system either. There is a reason why people are in prison an # 1 reason is to protect society from them (in my view). As long as they are in prison they've forfeited certain rights and the privilege to vote is one of them.

Now, if we're talking felony disenfranchisement afterward, then we have
an entirely different topic.

1 Reply

Should prisoners have the right to vote?

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