A few weeks ago, Mitt Romney said in a Republican presidential debate that he is opposed to letting ex-felons vote, if they had been convicted of a “violent” crime. Now, Ohio Attorney General Michael DeWine, who was once a U.S. Senator, has withdrawn his endorsement of Romney and is instead endorsing Rick Santorum, specifically over Romney’s position on voting rights for ex-felons. See this story. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the link.
Again I must bring up —
In England after a criminal has had his/her punishment completed it is a major slander/libel to refer to such person as being a criminal.
i.e. the person is restored to being full legal rights.
BUT, of course, some felons in the U.S.A. have lifetime punishments for their felonies — treason, murder, etc.
I am glad England is allowing its citizens to be restored legal rights after they have paid their debt to society. I cannot understand why the U.S. and particularly republican candidates, profess to be Christians when they are so unforgiving and judgmental. They are in direct opposition to the teaching of Christ and most other religions.
The criminal sentencing laws are fraudulent if we sentence a felon to a specified number of years in prison but their actual sentence is life because they cannot re-join society, cannot find jobs, housing and cannot vote.
Re felon voting: Sen. Santorum (and Sen. DeWine) were just wrong to vote for this federal bill. For starters, it is unconstitutional, since the Constitution lets each state decide if it will let felons vote. Besides, if you aren’t willing to follow the law yourself, then you can’t demand a role in making the law for everyone else, which is what you do when you vote. The right to vote can be restored to felons, but it should be done carefully, on a case-by-case basis after a person has shown that he or she has really turned over a new leaf, not automatically on the day someone has finished his sentence. Read more about this issue on our website here [ http://www.ceousa.org/voting/voting-news/felon-voting/538-answering-the-challenges-to-felon-disenfranchisement ] and our congressional testimony here: [ http://judiciary.house.gov/hearings/pdf/Clegg100316.pdf ].