Should Prisoners Be Able To Vote Essay

In 1971, 1 out of 12 Americans were incarcerated. Since that time, the prisoner ratio has exponentially increased; today, that ratio is 1 out of 51. With that number continuing to rise, many problems result out of it. Prison overcrowding is a growing problem in the United States. The number of people being taken in has regressive effects on the purpose behind imprisonment. Though the prisoners are not there for a comfortable and enjoyable stay, ethical rights are being ignored. How can a someone carry out their sentence rightfully if the focus is taken away from them and put on the judgment of the courts and justice system? Prison overcrowding is without a doubt problematic and inhumane. The mandatory sentencing laws, lack of attention on

The need for more prisons is not really a need. I am not in favor of the there being more prisons built in this world. Serving time in prison is supposed to be as unpleasant as possible. I am also not in favor of prisoners being mistreated by other inmates and or facility staff members. There are prison guards that often beat inmates and rape female inmates. These issues are also widely ignored. Here is California, we have one of the 10 worst prisons in America. Speaking of Pelican Bay State Prison. This prison located in Crescent City, California, has 3500 inmates. Out of the 3500 prisoners, 1500 of them are in solitary. Of that 1500 in solitary, 500 of them have been in solitary in excess of a decade. Are we sure, building more

Felon disenfranchisement did not start in the United States. In fact, the practice of felon disenfranchisement began in ancient Greece and Rome before evolving even more in England with “outlawry”, by the time this practice came to the United States it began to evolve into what it is today based on the other nations practices (Grady, 2012, pp. 443-445). Felon disenfranchisement, for those who do not know, is taking away a felon’s right to vote. Usually, this only occurs when they are incarcerated, but some states also do not allow the ex-felons to vote even when they are back in regular society. In Michigan, felons are granted their right to vote again once they are freed from incarceration. Though some may disagree, the state of Michigan should

People who have committed felonies and are put in jail get their rights taken away once they are put in uniforms and made to do whatever the parole officers tell them to. One of the main rights taken away are the right to vote in the presidential elections every four years. In today’s society, everybody’s opinion can make in impact in the way our country in ran. Convicted felons have a large percentage of votes that could change the outcome of an election if they were allowed to vote. Convicted felons who have been released should definitely regain their rights to vote. Only 4 states are allowing ex-cons to vote. For felons to vote again can act as a rehab or a source of motivation for them to turn their lives around.

First of all, a felon should not be allowed to vote because, their judgement is questionable. A felon is an individual who has committed a serious crime, typically involving violence, and usually serves more than a year in imprisonment. Children and mentally incompetent individuals are not allowed to vote due to their judgement being unquestionable (Shaw, Jerry 2015). A felon’s judgment is just as, if not more problematic. Not only is their judgement questionable, but individuals who commit felonies are typically untrustworthy. It would not be plausible to trust someone who has committed a violent crime to vote responsibly.

What is a constitution? According to Merriam Webster Dictionary a constitution is a document that describes the system of beliefs and laws by which a country, state or organization is governed.

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. So the ones, who think felon’s or ex-felons should not vote, hold a grudge and begin to despise the idea of allowing a felon to vote. People want to continue with felon disenfranchisement and exclude felons from their own country. Although felons seem to have no morals. In all honesty, they do and they should be allowed at least one right that all Americans are able to share with one another.

There’s a multitude of things that need to be repaired in our system, and prison is one of them. Prison reform is an important issue because we need to take care of everyone and with the way we treat criminals, we do not see them as equal. We need to assess illegal acts correctly instead of trying to put people in jail for the rest of their lives. We also need to work more on how we try to rehabilitate people. Instead of barring convicts off from the rest of us, we need to teach them how to integrate, so they can live better lives than they did

Shawshank’s Redemption, an all-time best movie produced in 1994 starred and led by actors Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman. A story about two imprisoned men’s experience with the corrupted prison institution through their way of self-redemption. There is a line, which was well read by Morgan Freeman, I am particularly fond of. Here I quote ‘These walls are funny. First you hate them, then you get used to them. Enough time passes, you get so you depend on them. That 's institutionalized.’ A prison should aim at retribution, incapacitation, deterrence and rehabilitation. I am very well convinced that prison has served its first three purposes by depriving offenders’ freedom, but the

I have never before visited a prison nor have I met a prisoner in my entire life. Why should I care about someone whom I would rarely see? But these inmates are our brothers and sisters who may have made bad choices, but don’t want their mistakes to hold them back. Throughout my life, my once miserable and hopeless circumstances were transformed by education, and I am certain that the same principle can be applied to anyone, including inmates, despite our differences in how we responded to circumstances. It is true that prison takes nearly everything away from them – even their hopes and dreams. But they have the time to correct past mistakes. In doing so, if they can learn from the worst time of their lives, upon release, they will enter the

“A good first step forward is to start treating prisoners as a human being, not profiting from their incarceration.” ( Bernie Sanders). The prison system is only thinking about money because they don't care the effect it has in people's life when they are sentenced unfairly. The U.S Prison system is unfair, and two of the most important aspects to understand about it are the war on drugs and racism.

United States citizens with a criminal background should be allowed to vote in their state of residency

Does it make sense to lock up 2.4 million people on any given day, giving the U.S the highest incarceration rate in the world. More people are going to jail, this implies that people are taken to prison everyday for many facilities and many go for no reason. People go to jail and get treated the worst way as possible. This is a reason why the prison system needs to be changed. Inmates need to be treated better. The government treats prisoners as if they are nothing in this world. The U.S prison system needs to be reformed by building new and better prisons and making it more humane and fair.

The federal government (Howard) made an amendment to the 1918 electoral act that had stated that all prisoners were denied to vote, not just prisoners who were serving a 3 year term or less.

Ladies and gentlemen, today we are here to discuss an important matter, should prisoners be allowed to vote. This matter is mostly based on opinions but such an important decision cannot be taken lightly. Furthermore, both sides of the argument must be taken into balance before a final decision is taken as this decision may impact the entire future of a country.