Trauma Exposure Theory

United States citizens with a criminal background should be allowed to vote in their state of residency Ontreal Harris Professor Ross Composition II Reference Shaw, Jerry. “When Did Ex-Felons Lose Their Rights to Vote? A History.” Newsmax. Newsmax Media, Inc.

Many speculations are made when it comes to allowing ex-felons or felons to vote. Felons should have the right to vote because everyone’s vote counts when it comes to electing a new president for the country. Felons are a part of the country they should be permitted to vote all the least. To some, felons or ex-felons should not be allowed the right to vote. This is because many people believe that felons have gone against their own country and defiled their country’s name.

The removal of this right dehumanizes prisoners. The streets of Texas are filled with blue or white collar criminals on bail or simply waiting for their sentence. Presently, if individual are found guilty of a crime, but they are not given a judicial sentence they are still allowed to vote; why should there be treated differently from convicted criminals who are locked up? However, allowing prisoners to vote while in prison would increase voting turnout and also Texas would gain the reputation of becoming one of the two states that allow prisoners to vote while in prison.

Thirty U.S. states deny voting rights to convicts on probation, and thirty-five states disenfranchise parolees. In the most extreme cases, eleven states carry on denying voting rights even to some “ex-felons” who have successfully fulfilled their prison, parole, or probation sentences. Most of americans agree that Ex-felons should be able to vote, yes, but so should prisoners themselves?! To some, the idea may seem risky, unnecessary or even unconscionable. But in fact, there are good reasons to embrace it.

What would you do if you were convicted as a felon for the rest of your life for a crime that you knew you were not guilt of ? Many people around the world are convicted as felons not because they are guilty but because they do not have the money or support to have the proper attorney to fight their case. The articles ‘ If You Can’t Follow Laws, You Shouldn’t Help Make Them’ by Roger Clegg and ‘ Felon Disenfranchisement Is Anti-Democratic’ by Janai S. Nelson have different viewpoints on whether convicted felons should be given their rights to vote again. Felons should not have their right to vote taken away because despite what they have been through they are no less human than a regular citizen and deserve to be treated like everyone else.

I also believe if you are a convicted felon you have lost all of your rights until you have proven you are good again. What this means is that I think the police should search through your home from time to time. I think it will benefit because if the criminal is doing illegal things the police will find out and criminal activity would go down. This is already practiced by the term called probation which takes the felons 4th right

Recidivism refers to the repetition of criminal behavior (James, 2011). According to the United States Bureau of Justice 2010 statistics report, three-quarters of released prisoners are constantly rearrested for new crimes and more than half of these go back to prison in a period of two to three years after their release. Ex- inmates account for an approximated 19 percent of all arrests (Phelps, 2013, p.55). Criminals who return to the community are also most of the times worse off after a period of confinement than when they entered. It is attributable to the fact that these inmates learn antisocial and criminal attitudes from other

Giving prisoners the opportunity to vote is not any harm to others. As a result, Maine and Vermont are the only two states that allow ex-felons and prisoners to vote. In these states felons never lose their right to vote. The other states need to follow in their footsteps and come up with a new law for prisoners voting rights. All states should have the same law as Maine and Vermont because this right is fundamental to a democracy.

Some politicians say cities have become much safer because of the success of the criminal justice system. Jacoby says, “To ease the pressure, nearly all convicted felons are released early -- or not locked up at all.” 58 percent of all murders and 98 percent of all burglaries not result in a prison term. Most of these convicted criminals are on the streets without parole supervision or

Felon disenfranchisement is not only unconstitutional but also further institutionalizes racism. For example, in communities consisting of minorities like African Americans and Hispanics felony disenfranchisement unlawfully create a disadvantage for freedom of speech. As stated by Eric H. Holder, JD a US Attorney General “although well over a century has passed since post-Reconstruction …the impact of felony disenfranchisement on modern communities of color remains both disproportionate and unacceptable.” The act of taking away someone’s right to vote notably mirrors the act of forbidding African Americans to vote during the post-Reconstruction Era. Holder refers to the fact that taking away the right to vote essentially withdraws any opinions that minorities

Expungement has to be a Tool on the Table Did you know the United States now locks up a higher number of it population than any other country in the Word. We now have over 2 million people incarcerated today (Jacobson, 2005, p. 8). Of the people who go to prison only 5% stay or die in jail, the other 95% are released from jail, and of those 95%, 80% are released to parole and are supervised by the system (Jacobson, 2005, p. 131). So these people are now on the streets trying to live their lives and face the challenges of paying bills, relationships (getting along with people), get education for a personal growth, getting a job or a good job with benefits, and even a house over their head, plus let’s not forget food.

I have to agree with Alexander (2012) that being labeled a felon condemned individuals to second-class citizenship perpetuate the cycle of criminal behavior. I have seen firsthand individuals being released from prison as a felon back into society and how Jim Crow practices outcast them from society. For example, newly released individuals from prison are indeed released with a financial debt owed to the Criminal Justice System. Many of the individuals often have to pay restitution to victims, court costs/attorney fees, and fees owed to the Probation department. Individual parolees are required to pay money to their probation officers every visit and some parolees may be required to visit their probation officer every month.

The government would sooner leave all citizens that have been labeled as felons to die rather than give them the help they need to change the way they

While "tough on crime" policies may be effective in incapacitating offenders, little consideration has been given to the impact this mass incarceration effort has had on offenders following their release from prison. Every year more than 600,000 people are released from jails and prisons to face the challenge of re-entering society in a productive capacity (Geiger, 2006; Travis, Solomon, & Waul, 2001). Due to the collateral consequences of a criminal conviction, reintegration is often met with a host of daunting and unnecessary barriers. Black Americans comprise a major segment of the neglected population and when they are released from prison the barriers to reintegration are often compounded by the stigma of their racial classification and the mark of a criminal

Finally, my last suggestion would be to alter the labels of ex-felonies for minor violations, and changing how to use the criminal check box. Once an ex-convict paid for their time in prison for inferior crimes we should not label then as a felon, so that they can apply for jobs and do not have to check on the felony box when applying for a job. Consequently, ex-convict could get a better chance to be hired, so that they truly have a chance to readjust in the society. People that who are labeled as a felon have a hard time applying for jobs, housings, and getting food stamps, making it impossible to survive and to provide for their family. They can lose their kids, their home, and become homeless and in other cases going back to jail.