Essay On Ex-Felons

I believe that ex-felons should have the right to vote. Many states have implemented laws prohibiting the voting rights of felons. As well as prohibiting the voting rights of those previously convicted of felonies. We live in a Democracy and at the fundamental base of any self-proclaimed democratic society is the right to vote. I believe we must trust the ex-felons’ judgements, post rehabilitation. The voting in America is racially skewed due to the disenfranchisement of ex-felons. Trusting the prison industry to rehabilitate inmates hasn’t been a successful one. “The US has one of the highest: 76.6% of prisoners are re-arrested within five years,” As BusinessInsider.com reports. While Norway’s recidivism rate, “has one of the lowest recidivism rates in the world at 20%.” Recidivism is basically is one’s relapse into their previous behavior. Despite the US’s …show more content…
The voting in America is racially skewed due to the disenfranchisement of ex-felons. Disenfranchisement for ex-felons has helped create a racial divide within voting privileges. “More than 2 million African Americans, or close to 8 percent of black adults, aren't able to vote because of felony convictions compared to just under 2 percent of non-African Americans,” according to the Sentencing Project. In states that disenfranchise ex-felons, as many as forty percent of black men may permanently lose their right to vote. “The impact of felony disenfranchisement on modern communities of color remains both disproportionate and unacceptable. Throughout America, 2.2 million black citizens – or nearly one in 13 African-American adults – are banned from voting because of these laws. In three states – Florida, Kentucky, and Virginia – that ratio climbs to one in five,” as Attorney General Eric Holder Delivers Remarks on Criminal Justice Reform at Georgetown University Law